What Maisy Knew
by bonniegrey
Summary: For FBI Agent Jennifer Jareau It was a case like any other until a 4 year-old girl was found at the killer's home. The team needs Maisy's help to find someone but the girl has gone mute. With the desire to help, JJ does more than she ever did and Maisy ends up strongly attached to her. What will she do when she suddenly has a daughter ?
1. Chapter 1: Maisy

It was a cold day in Denver, Colorado.  
It was snowing and the wind was blowing strong.  
As soon as the FBI jet landed the team headed straight to the crime scene. Another woman was found dead, that made 6 in just 4 weeks. The agents from the behavior analysis unit worked hard for 5 days to find the couple responsible for the murders, Liza and Thomas Clarkson.

"FBI, open the door" Hotch said as he knocked on the door. They had to go slow because it was believed that the couple had their 3 children inside the house.

But it didn't work and Suddenly the shooting started.  
Inside the house Liza ran away while Thomas shot at the agents.  
After a couple minutes there was complete silence. Thomas was shot in the head and fell dead on the floor.

"Liza Clarkson, come out" Hotch said but there were no signs of the woman.  
"Morgan, JJ, Reid, take the back. Prentiss and Rossi come with me" Hotch said.  
They walked inside the house and the first floor was clear. Reid heard a little voice coming from the second floor and said "there's someone upstairs" and they headed to the second floor.  
There was a door open and the "singing" was coming from there. Hotch walked there pointing his gun. He stood at the door and made a stop sign to the other agents.  
"Liza, its over now" he said. He stepped inside the room and there were no signs of the woman.  
The room was yellow and well taken care of. There was a crib in the corner of the room with a 7 month-old baby boy inside. _Connor_ was written with dark blue letters on the wall. There was a 2 year-old girl on a bed in the other corner, the girl had blond hair and was wearing a pink dress and purple socks. _Julie_ was in pink letters on the wall above her bed.

"Morgan" Hotch said and Morgan walked in. He handed the baby to Reid and Hotch gave the 2 year-old to Rossi. "Take them to the hospital" Hotch said.

"Where is your sister?" Emily asked the 2 year-old, but the girl didn't answer she just stared at Rossi.

"Turn this house upside down and find the child" Hotch said.  
They searched the second floor and nothing. They headed to the third and found an office and a room with a lot of medical supplies. "Get CSI up here" Hotch said as he saw a lot of things that the couple probably used on their crimes.  
The walked down the hall to another door. The door was white and had some drawings on it, child's drawing.  
Hotch made a silence sign and opened the door slowly. He walked in to find a small blonde girl in the corner of the room with her knees to her chest only wearing underwear. She looked terrified. He made a stop sign for the other agents and everyone froze. He gave Emily Prentiss a nod and she stepped forward.  
She walked inside the room and her heart broke. The room was yellow too but it was different from the other one, it was dirtier and only had a small bed on the corner and a few toys next to it. The little girl was on the other side of the room trying to get as close to the wall as possible.

"Hi. I'm Emily . We are the FBI, the police. We came to help" she said but the girl just kept covering her ears and staring at the floor. Jennifer Jareau and Derek Morgan walked to the door and Hotch signed for them to stop.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Emily asked but the girl didn't answer.

Suddenly JJ saw the drawings on the wall next to the door and saw a big "Maisy" written on the wall in little kid writing, as if the girl wrote there because she wanted her name on the wall like her siblings had.  
JJ took a step closer to the girl and said "Maisy?" And nothing.  
"Maisy, it's okay" she said and the girl looked up. "Hi" JJ smiled. "I'm Jennifer and we just want to help you. We're going to take you to a safe place now" she said and the girl just kept staring. "Can you come with me?" She asked holding out a hand.  
The girl stared but didn't move.  
"It's okay. Come on" JJ said taking a step forward. The girl looked away scared. JJ walked to her and kneed down next to her. She could see the child's small body shaking.  
"Maisy, it's a little cold in here. It's snowing outside. Are you cold?" She asked and the girl gave her a small nod. JJ took her FBI jacket off and went to put it on the girl who just moved away.  
"It's Okay it's just my jacket" JJ said and Maisy let JJ put it around her shoulders. "Why don't we go to a warmer place, huh? Your brother and sister are going too" JJ said and Maisy looked at her. "Do you want to go with them?" She asked.  
Again only a small nod from Maisy.  
"Come on" JJ said holding out a hand again. This time Maisy took it. JJ helped her get up and took a step forward. The girl walked and let out a little cry. She was in pain.  
"Can I carry you?" JJ asked.  
Maisy shook her head no, scared.  
"It's okay. You're in pain, maybe if I carry you it wont hurt" JJ said and kneed down. Maisy looked down and JJ lifted her up. The girl was stiff in her arms. JJ carried Maisy to the car and Prentiss and Morgan followed. She placed the girl in the backseat and sat next to her. Prentiss and Morgan got on the front.

"Maisy, these are my friends, Emily and Derek. They'll take us to a safe place now. We'll meet your sister and your brother there. Okay?" JJ said as the girl just kept looking down.  
Morgan started the car and headed to the hospital.

When the got there JJ picked Maisy up and carried her inside. The girl was still so stiff in her arms.  
She laid the child on the bed and as the doctor approached the little one grabbed her shirt.  
"It's okay. I'll be right here" JJ said pushing some messy curls away from the girl's face.  
The doctor, Sam Johnson, walked closer and Maisy got on her knees and threw herself on JJ. She was shaking and was clearly terrified.

"Can we get a girl doctor please?" Emily said as she noticed the girl hiding her face from the man.

"Of course" doctor Johnson said and walked out.

"It's okay Maisy, they're just going to make sure you're okay" JJ said laying Maisy on the bed again and sitting next to her. The small girl put her thumb in her mouth and hid her face on JJ's leg.  
Jeniffer looked at Emily and both looked very sorry and concern.

"Maisy" Emily said but the girl didn't look up. "A girl doctor is gonna come check on you, okay?" She explained. "She needs to see where you're hurt so she can make it better"  
Maisy looked up at JJ. She looked scared.

"She'll make it all better." JJ said with a warm smile. Maisy hid again and grabbed JJ's shirt.  
JJ looked at Emily concern.  
They both knew that those kids were being abused. They just didn't know how bad it was, especially with Maisy.


	2. Chapter 2: Hospital

After some time the doctor walked in, Dianne Burks. She introduced herself to the agents and to Maisy and asked if it was okay for her to check the girl for a fever.  
Maisy hid scared.

"It's okay, that won't hurt" JJ said but Maisy didn't look up.

"You can do it on me. Do you want to try?" The doctor said and the girl looked at her. "Wanna try?" Doctor Burks asked again. Maisy just stared.  
"Can you sit up?" The doctor asked and Maisy sat with JJ's help. "Here, just press this button and do this" the woman explain and handed it to the girl. Maisy picked it up and did as told.  
"See. It says here if I have a fever or not" the doctor explained. "Can I try on you now?" She asked and Maisy gave her a nod. She took the girl's temperature and she was a little feverish.

"So what's your name little one?" The woman asked but Maisy stayed quiet so JJ answered "It's Maisy"

"Wow that a pretty name" doctor Burks said. "And how old are you, Maisy?" She asked.  
This time Maisy held up 4 fingers.  
"Oh you're a big girl" the woman said with a smile as Emily and JJ smiled too.  
Maisy still looked scared and tense.  
"Did you hit your head at all today, sweetie?" The woman asked and Maisy shook her head no. "Are you hurting anywhere?" She asked and Maisy shook her head again.

"She was in pain when she walked" JJ said and Maisy looked down.

"It's okay Maisy. We are here to help" Doctor Burks said. "Can you tell me where it hurts?" She asked but Maisy stayed quiet. "Can you show me?" She asked and Maisy put her hand on her belly.

"Maisy, do you mind if I check your tummy?" Burks asked and Maisy stayed silent. "Can you lay down?" She asked and Maisy laid back down. The doctor opened the jacket up and saw a lot of purple bruises on the girl's tiny body, some were old but some looked very recent.  
She went to touch Maisy's belly and the girl moved away. "It's okay sweetie" she said but Maisy squirmed away and stared crying.  
JJ didn't think twice and scooped the girl up. Maisy rested her head on Jennifer's shoulder and just kept crying.

The Doctor went to get a nurse and JJ said "Just give her some time".  
Emily looked at her in a bit of a shock. That had happened before with another child and the doctor got a nurse to help hold him and JJ didn't do anything about it but now she was walking around the room rocking Maisy.

"Shuuu it's okay. They won't hurt you. They just want to help" JJ kept saying.

After sometime the little girl calm down. JJ placed her on the back but Maisy held her tight.  
"Maisy, you need to let them see if you have owies that they can fix" JJ explained. Maisy shook her head no. "I'll be here the whole time. I won't let them hurt you" JJ said and Maisy looked at her. "I promise"  
Maisy laid down on the bed and stayed quiet as the doctor examined her. She flinched a few times and cried a little but let the lady look. When it came to her private area, the doctor knew it would be hard. She could see there was some dry blood on the girl's thigh and she knew how it probably got there.

"Maisy, I need to take your underwear off now, okay?" Doctor Burks said. Maisy's eyes widened and she took her knees to her chest.  
"It's okay. I just need to look" Burke said but the girl didn't move.

"Maisy I'm right here" JJ said holding the girl's hand. "Emily and I are here and we won't let them hurt you. They just want to help. I promise" JJ said.

The doctor touched the girl's leg and Maisy let her lower them. "Just looking" the woman said. She opened the girl's leg apart a bit and Maisy flinched at the touch. The girl hid her face on JJ's leg.  
The doctor examined Maisy and just by looking at her face Emily and JJ knew.  
"She'll need a rape kit" Burks said.

JJ took a deep breath to calm herself down. She was furious at those people. How could they do that to a tiny 4 year-old.

Doctor Burks got what she needed from a drawer and went back to the bed where Maisy was. "Sweetie I'm gonna need to see if there are more owies here, okay?" The woman said as Maisy's eyes filled with tears again.

Emily walked closer to the bed and asked if Maisy wanted to hold her hand. The girl shook her head no and grabbed JJ's hand.

"You can hold mine" JJ said with a little smile, trying to look calm so the kid wouldn't freak out.

"This might hurt just a little bit, okay? But you gotta be brave" doctor Burks said.  
Maisy hid her face on JJ's leg as the doctor started. It was hurting and the little girl couldn't help but cry. Her cry broke their hearts. She was just so little to be going through that.  
Maisy cried and held JJ's hand tightly the whole time.

"All done" doctor Burks said. "You did so good Maisy" she said and the girl turned to the side away from her.

A nurse walked in with a hospital gown for the girl and JJ put it on her but didn't tie it on the back.

"She'll need a blood test too and I'd like an x-ray of her chest and stomach just to make sure everything is okay there" Burks told them. "She's dehydrated so she'll need an IV for a little while." She said and went to get the things on the tray.  
"Maisy, do you know what an IV is?" She asked but Maisy didn't look at her. "Well, an IV is a little tube that gives you medicine to make you feel better. Do you think you'd like that? So you can feel a little better?" She said and Maisy nodded.  
JJ smiled.  
"Alright so I'm gonna do that, okay?" Burks said and Maisy nodded again, still hiding.  
"Can I see your hand?" The woman said and Maisy bravely let her but still hid her face.  
The doctor cleaned with alcohol and put the needle in. Maisy cried a little. "All done" Burks said securing the IV in place. "Look it's done and now it will help you feel better" she said. Maisy looked at her hand and kept crying.

"It's hurts a little, honey. But it will go away" JJ said as the girl's crying subsided.

"We need a little blood test now, okay? It's easier than that. I promise" the doctor said and cleaner the girl's arm. She went for it quickly and Maisy looked at JJ and tried holding her tears in.

"You can cry. It's okay" JJ said and the girl burst into tears.

The doctor was soon finished. "I'm gonna order the X-rays and then I'll be back" Burks said and went out.

"You did so good, honey" JJ said as she stroke the girl's hair. Maisy kept sniffing as she hid her face on JJ again.

After some time the doctor walked back in for the X-rays. JJ got off the bed but kept holding Maisy's tiny hand.

"Maisy we need to take some pictures now, okay?" Burks said and Maisy looked at JJ.

"That won't hurt at all, I promise" JJ said.  
The doctor started wheeling the bed and Maisy started crying and held JJ's arms with both hands.  
The doctor stopped and said "it's okay sweetie we'll be right back" but Maisy wouldn't let go.

"Maisy, I can't go where they take the pictures but I'll be here waiting for you" JJ said.  
Maisy shook her head no looking scared.  
"I'll wait for you here. I promise" JJ said.  
Maisy kept staring at her and then let go. She laid back down and they took the to get X-rays.  
The girl had tears falling down her cheeks the entire time but they soon stopped when they wheeled the bed back to where JJ and Emily were.  
The doctors showed them the X-rays and she didn't have any broken bones at the time or anything to worry, but there were signs of a rib that was healed from a break. JJ and Emily felt horrible.

"We should be getting the blood test results in about 30 minutes. I'll be back" the doctor said and walked out.

JJ sat next to Maisy on the bed and the girl hid her face again and kept holding JJ's hand tightly.

After sometime JJ and Emily could see the child was fighting her sleep.  
"Maisy, you can sleep honey. We'll be right here" JJ said but Maisy shook her head no and refused to sleep.

Later the doctor walked in and said that her exams showed low levels of vitamin B, vitamin A and calcium. "She'll need to take these supplements for 2 weeks and then get tested again." She said handing a small bag to Emily. "She'll need a vitamin B injection today" Burks said. Maisy didn't seem to care but kept hiding her face.  
The doctor go ready for that and went to do it.  
"The IV is done so we can take that off and do the shot and she can maybe take shower here and then leave" Burks said.  
"Maisy, can I see your hand again?" She asked but Maisy didn't move. "I'm gonna take it off. It's okay" she said and Maisy let her. She took it off quickly and Maisy only flinched.  
"Can you turn around really quick for me?" She said and Maisy turned to the side facing JJ. "All the way down, sweetie" Burks said and Maisy did as told. She put the hospital gown up and cleaned the girl's butt cheek with alcohol. She went and gave Maisy the shot as the nurse held the girl's legs. The kid let out a scream as she felt it hurt badly. But she didn't move, she knew it better then to move. She stood still and held JJ's hand tightly as many tears rolled down her cheeks.  
Once it was done the doctor asked Emily to sign the discharge papers since they were taking Maisy to the police station to talk to her about a few things. Emily walked out with the woman and JJ picked Maisy up as the girl kept crying.

"It's all done. You did so good Maisy. You're so tough" JJ kept saying as she walked around the room rocking the crying child.  
Maisy slowly calmed down and her eyelid got heavy. She was almost asleep when Emily walked back in with a nurse.

"There's a bathroom right there we can use" the nurse said. She always helped taking care of kids that suffered abuse.

JJ took Maisy to the bathroom and when the girl realized where she was she started crying again.  
"Shuuu it's okay. You need a shower, baby" JJ said calmly.  
Maisy stared shaking her head no and crying badly. She looked terrified.  
The nurse tried to take her from JJ and the screaming started. The nurse ripped the girl off JJ and went in the shower with her.

"It's okay. It's okay" the nurse kept saying as she held Maisy under the warm water. The girl kept crying, screaming and kicking her little legs around. Another nurse walked in and helped her clean Maisy as the girl kept screaming and trying to get away.  
Emily and JJ watched from the door.  
JJ couldn't hold her tears in. Emily saw and held her hand.

The nurses finished quickly and wrapped the girl in a towel. They were about to take the girl out of the bathroom when JJ said "I got it from here". She put her hand on Maisy's back and the girl threw herself on her. JJ walked back in the room and walked around rocking Maisy as the girl's cries slowly went away.

After some time Maisy was almost asleep.  
"Let's go?" Prentiss said and JJ nodded.  
"Here. The doctor gave her new clothes." Emily said holding that up.

JJ put Maisy down on the ground and she whined so she quickly lifted the girl back up.  
"I know it hurts, baby. But you need to get dressed." She said and slowly put Maisy down again. This time the girl stood there quiet. JJ helped her put on a blue dress, white socks and a grey jacket from the hospital. Maisy's messy curly hair needed to be brushed but JJ just picked the girl up and let her rest her head on her shoulder. She knew the child needed some rest.

"Let's go" Emily said and they headed to the car. Morgan was waiting there. He had all the files that said what happened to Maisy and when JJ walked back holding the girl he couldn't help but feel really sorry.  
JJ got inside the car and buckled Maisy up. The girl rested her head on the woman's lap as JJ kept striking her hair. Soon enough Maisy fell asleep.

"How was it?" Morgan asked when JJ said Maisy had fallen asleep.

"Horrible" JJ said.

"There were signs of sexual abuse too" Emily said and Morgan felt a lump on his throat. The girl was just so small, she didn't even look 4 years old.  
"But she did a good job though" Emily said.

"Yeah" JJ said with a little smile as she stroke Maisy's hair.

She didn't know why but somehow she felt connect to Maisy.  
She felt protective of her.  
She felt like she didn't want to let go of the girl's tiny hand.


	3. Chapter 3: A Little Voice

Derek parked the car at the Denver Police station and Maisy woke up immediately. Her eyes wide open and she looked scared.

"Shuuu it's okay. This is the police station. It's alright" JJ said throwing her arm around Maisy's shoulder.  
Derek and Emily got out so JJ unbuckled Maisy and picked her up. She carried the girl inside the police station and Maisy was still stiff in her arms and have not yet spoken.

They walked in and when Maisy saw Hotch she hid her face on JJ's neck.

"Get her settled in there and try to see if she knows where Liza went" Hotch said and JJ took Maisy to another room.  
She put the girl down on the couch and Maisy held her shirt.

"I'm going to sit right here next to you" JJ said.

Emily walked in and closed the door. The room had a glass wall, a big couch and a small couch, a tv and a few toys in a basket.  
"Do you want to go pick one?" Emily asked as she noticed Maisy looking at the toys.  
The girl hid her face on JJ's stomach the moment Emily started talking. JJ looked at Emily and they knew it would be hard to get her to talk but Emily decided to try anyway.

"Maisy, I know you're scared but we need your help" Emily said and the kid looked at her. "Only you can help us find Liza" she said. When Maisy heard the woman's name she hid again.

"Honey, I know it's scary but you can help us find her. And she'll go away forever" JJ said and Maisy looked up.

"Maisy, did you hear your mom say where she was going today?" Emily asked and Maisy thought for a while then shook her head no.

"Did she talk to your daddy about a friend she would visit, maybe?" Emily said and Maisy shook her head.

"Did your dad say something about your mommy going away?" JJ asked.  
Maisy looked down and they knew the answer was yes.

"Maisy, you can tell us. He's not here" Emily said but Maisy shook her head no.

"He can't hurt you anymore" JJ said and the girl started crying and shaking her head no nervously.  
"Shuuu it's okay. Calm down" JJ said but Maisy wouldn't stop doing that. So JJ pulled the girl to her lap and held her. "Shuuu it's okay. You're safe now." She told Maisy.

The child started to calm down.  
"We can watch a movie for a while. Do you wanna do that?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded yes.

Emily walked to the tv and found 2 DVDs on the top. "Cinderella or Wizard of oz?" Emily asked the girl.  
Maisy looked up and pointed to Cinderella.

"Good choice" JJ said with a smile.

Emily picked up a blanket and handed to JJ who covered Maisy up. The girl sat there and watched the movie. No one said another word till Maisy fell asleep 15 minutes into the film.

"I don't think she'll help us much" JJ said.

"She's 4. This is too much for her. She's terrified" Emily said and They stared at the sleeping girl.  
"Yeah" I'm gonna talk to Hotch" Emily said and walked out.

"How did it go?" Hotch asked as Emily walked to them.  
She shook her head no and said "she didn't say a word yet"

"Tell JJ to keep her company and try to get her talking." Hotch said.

"Where are the other kids?" Emily asked.

"CPS got them in the hospital. They will get here at any time now. Rossi is trying to locate another family member" Hotch said.

"There were no signs of abuse on them, Emily" Derek said.

"What? But Maisy...?" Emily said in shock.

"It seems like she was the target in the house" Hotch said and Emily shook her head in disapproval. "Go talk to JJ and see if you two can get something from her. She might be the only one who knows where Liza is" Hotch said.

Emily walked back to the room and she felt really bad for the girl. She couldn't believe the amount of trauma that tiny child went through.

"So..?" JJ asked as she stroke Maisy's hair.

"Hotch wants us to keep trying. They'll work too but he said she might be the only one who knows where Liza went." Emily said.

Looking at Emily's face JJ knew Emily had new information that she wasn't sharing.  
"And..?" JJ said concerned.

"Hotch said there were no signs of abuse in the other children. Maisy was the only one" Emily said.

JJ looked down at the sleeping girl. "How can people do this to such a small child?" JJ said.

"Something on her triggered them. Maybe her age or ... who knows. These people are just..." Emily tried explaining.

"These people are monsters" JJ said.

"Yeah" Emily said.

Emily and JJ sat there talking about the case for about half an hour till Maisy woke up.  
She jumped awake screaming.

 _****_ _ **Maisy's nightmare**_ _****_  
 _"Mommy, why are you packing?" I asked my Mom when I walked inside her bedroom. "Liza, I'm Liza and That's none of your business Maisy" my Mom said and then ignored me. Suddenly daddy walked in "get the fuck out" he yelled and I ran out. He closed the door and started talking to mommy. I wanted to know why she was packing so I sneaked there again and heard from outside the door. "But ...onebridge?" I heard daddy say. "Yeah I'll see where I'll go from there" mommy said. Suddenly I heard a noise and ran to the stairs. I sat there and prayed no one saw me. Daddy walked passed me and I breathed out relieved. Julie started crying from the living room and daddy ran downstairs. "I can't stay in this house" he said and walked out._  
 _... I heard the car pull into the driveway. Daddy was home. I quickly went to the couch where Julie was laying down, she was still crying a little. When he opened the door I could tell he was drunk. I could recognize that smell every time. He walked to me and said "to your room" and I ran, I ran as fast as my legs could go. I sat on my bed and prayed he wouldn't come inside. But he did. He walked in and his belt was already on his hand. I stared at it and tried to think what I had done wrong this time but I couldn't remember anything so I asked "daddy, what did I do?". He looked at me and I instantly regretted asking. He walked to the bed and said "turn". "But daddy... I..." and that's when I felt. He slapped my back so hard I felt the air being sucked out of me. He made me turn and suddenly I let out a scream..._  
 _****_ _ **End**_ __ _****_

Maisy woke up screaming and JJ held her tight and rocked her whispering soothing words in her ear.  
Hotch and Morgan ran in and Emily said everything was okay, so they left.  
JJ managed to calm Maisy down and suddenly the girl said very low "done bridge"  
Her little voice was so sweet.

"What did you say sweetie?" JJ asked.

"Done bridge" Maisy said louder now.

"Is there where your mom went?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.

"What is done bridge?" Emily asked.

Maisy looked at her and said "I don't know" and bursted into tears.

"Shuuu it's alright" JJ said rocking the girl again and Emily went out to met the team.


	4. Chapter 4: Stonebridge

"Done bridge?" Morgan asked confused.

"She doesn't know what it is but she said Liza went there" Emily said.

Spencer was puzzled but after some time it hit him. "Done... done... STone" he whispered. "That's it! Stonebridge!" He said.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Stonebridge!" Spencer repeated.

"The city?" Emily said.

"Yes" Reid said. "She probably heard them talking."

"It's not that far from here" Morgan said.

"Call their police station" Hotch told Morgan. "Prentiss, see if she remembers anything else" he said and everyone went their ways to do something.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

Emily walked inside the room to find Maisy still crying as JJ held her tight.  
"Maisy, they can't hurt you anymore" Emily said sitting next to them.

"Daddy will be so mad" Maisy cried. "I shouldn't.." she said and sobbed.

"Shuuuu" JJ said standing up and walking around the room with the girl in her arms. "You're safe now. Shuuu" she kept saying.

"Where's Julie?" The little girl asked.

"She'll be here soon" JJ said and kept rocking Maisy.

Emily waited till Maisy calmed down and tried again.  
"Maisy, can I ask you a few questions?" Emily asked as JJ walked back to the couch. Jennifer sat down and Maisy just stared at Emily. "It's okay if you don't know all the answers" she said and Maisy gave her a nod.

"When did you hear your dad talk about Stonebridge?" Emily asked and JJ realized the girl was talking about the city, she just said the name a little wrong.

"In the morning when mommy was packing her gu-" Maisy said low and suddenly she felt really scared. She hid her face on JJ's chest and it was almost involuntary.

"What was she packing?" Emily asked softly. Maisy started shaking her head no again and couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Does she have a gun?" Emily asked and it just made it worse.

"Don't tell! Don't tell! You're not suppose .." Maisy said and just sobbed. JJ instantly hugged the girl and whispered soothing words in her ears as she cried.

Emily went out and told the team Liza was armed.  
"We'll be keeping Maisy here with us under witness protection for a while." Hotch said and Emily nodded agreeing. She went back to the room and told JJ.

"Her siblings should be here any time now" Emily said.

"Julie" Maisy whispered.

"Yeah Julie is coming" JJ said and sat back down placing Maisy next to her on the couch.

"So I was wondering if you'd like something to eat and drink." JJ said a little worried, she really didn't know why but she was feeling different about this kid.

"No thank you. I just want to go home with Julie" The girl said.

"Look you can't go right now because we need your help." Emily said and Maisy looked away. "Can you please help us?"

"No." Maisy politely answered.

"Look you are our only chance of finding your mommy and we need your help." Emily said.

"I don't want mommy to come back" Maisy said with tears in her eyes.

"We need to find her so we can send her to a place far far away so she won't be able to hurt you anymore" Jennifer said holding back her tears. She didn't knew why she was getting so emotional.

"I can't help" Maisy said.

"Maybe you can just try" JJ said.

"What do you want to know?" Asked Maisy.

"Well I need you to close your eyes and think for a while with us" JJ said hoping the child wouldn't hate her. "I'll be here the whole time" she said holding Maisy's hand.

"I can't help" said Maisy fighting her tears even harder.

"Yes you can sweetie. You are the only one who can." Emily said holding the young girls hand tight. This time Maisy let Emily touch her.

"You'll be here?" Maisy asked JJ to make sure.

"The whole time" JJ said.

"Okay" Maisy whispered looking scared.

Emily told Maisy to close her eyes, the girl squeezed JJ's hand and did what was told.  
"Do you remember what clothes you were wearing yesterday night?" Emily asked. Maisy thought about it and said "my pajamas".

"Did you wear that all day?" Emily asked.

"Yes"

"And what color was it?"

"Pink.

"Before you went to bed did you play for a while?" Emily asked as she remember the toys in the girl's bedroom.

"I played with Julie in my room till daddy..." Maisy said and stopped.

"It's Okay, we're here with you" JJ said as the girl tensed.

"Till daddy went to get her." Maisy said.

"And what did he say?" Emily asked.

"He said it's bed time girls and they left"

"And what did you do after that?"

"I went to bed" Maisy said.

"And you woke up today, do you remember if it was cold?" Emily asked.

"Yes it was" Maisy said her voice sounding scared.

"And you got scared?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Maisy cried.

"Why?" Emily asked but got no answer. "Why did you get scared Maisy?"

"Because daddy was there" Maisy cried.

"He was there alone?"

"Yeah he walked in and he pulled me out of bed . He had blood" Maisy said crying.

"His clothes had blood on it?" Emily asked.

"Yeah and he got me and told me to go eat" Maisy said.

"So you went downstairs?"

"Yes"

Emily went on and after all the interview Maisy was in tears and sitting on JJ's lap.  
Jennifer felt like she needed to protect the girl, so she hugged the girl even tighter.  
"It's okay, you're done! You did so good. Really really good." JJ said.

Maisy was crying but she felt protected, she was so scared but she was glad Jennifer was there with her.

"I'll be right back" Emily said and left the room. She told Hotch that Maisy said she woke up to her dad standing at her door with blood on his clothes. He made her go downstairs and eat breakfast with her sister. Once they were done they sat to watch tv and she heard someone screaming but she got scared and stayed on the couch with Julie. Later that day her dad left and the house was quiet again. She went to find her mom and Liza was packing, Her dad went back and told Maisy to leave but she stayed behind the door and listened to them talking. She told them everything she heard.

"She said her mom was going to meet a cousin at a farm in stonebridge. That's all she knows" Emily said and the team headed out. That wasn't a lot but it could be enough for Garcia to find something helpful.

Emily went back to the room and Maisy was still crying in JJ's arms.  
It was past 4 o'clock and Emily figured the kid was probably hungry.  
"Maisy did you have lunch today?" Emily asked and the kid shook her head no. "Do you want something to eat?"

Maisy nodded shyly.

"Do you like cheeseburgers?" Emily asked and Maisy shrugged. Emily walked out and asked an officer to buy a happy meal at a McDonald's close by.  
She went back to the room and soon after the officer arrived.

"Here" Emily said handing the bag to JJ as she held the apple juice. JJ put Maisy down next to her on the couch and got the burger out.

"What's this?" Maisy whispered a little confused.

"You never had one before?" JJ asked surprised and Maisy shook her head no.

"It's a cheeseburger. It's good, try it" JJ said and Maisy took a bite of it. Her face lit up and she quickly ate, she was just so hungry.

"Calm down" JJ said with a smile as the kid devoured the burger.  
Maisy soon finished and after eating she got even more tired.

"You can sleep if you want. We'll stay right here" Emily said as she noticed the girl was fighting her sleep.

"Will you stay?" Maisy asked JJ.

"Of course will" JJ smiled. "I promise" she said and pulled Maisy to her lap again. "You can sleep right here" JJ said and covered the girl up with the blanket and Maisy allowed herself to fall asleep in Jennifer's arms.


	5. Chapter 5: Left Behind

As Maisy slept, the team worked hard to find her mother.  
A man had called in saying he saw someone with Liza's descriptions walking in downtown Stonebridge so the team headed there with the Police. Emily and JJ stayed in the station with Maisy.

After some time Emily went out to get some coffee, JJ placed Maisy on the couch and went out with her. The kid was sleeping heavily so she thought she wouldn't wake up so soon.

"You like her, don't you?" Emily asked as they stepped outside.

"Of course I do she's adorable" said JJ.

"I mean you really like her" Emily said but JJ wasn't paying attention anymore. She saw the board and Maisy's photograph was in there. She looked at those but didn't really paid attention when she arrived at the station, she couldn't imagine how terrible life that little girl had.  
She suddenly felt the room were the girl was was calling back for her, she had to go back before the kid woke up.  
She quickly went to get some papers with an officer and when she was walking back to the room the little girl ran up to her and hugged her legs. Maisy didn't care about the pain she was feeling, she just wanted JJ.

"You said you'd be there!" Maisy said crying.

"I'm right here." Jennifer picked the kid up. "I just came to get some things." She explained as Maisy cried.  
Emily, JJ and Maisy headed back to the room. JJ sat down and Maisy refused to let go of her so she held the girl on her lap and Maisy slowly went back to sleep.

About 30 minutes later, a social worker walked in with the two other kids. Maisy woke up with the sound of Connor crying. She sat up and smiled when she saw them.  
Emily and JJ smiled too, happy to see such a cute smile on the child's face.  
Julie ran to the room when she saw Maisy. The 2 year-old was clearly scared too.  
The social worker walked to the room trying to calm Connor in her arms.

"Hi, I'm Lorena Jones" she said and shook Emily's hand. Emily let the little boy grab her finger and he stopped crying and just stared at her. JJ stood up to talk to the woman.  
Maisy was sitting down on the couch with Julie cuddled next to her.

"Can we watch the movie?" Maisy asked.

"Sure" JJ said and went to restart the film.

About 20 minutes into the movie, Hotch called Emily and asked to speak with the social worker. They talked and then the woman hung up.  
"May I speak with you two outside?" Lorena Jones said.

JJ and Emily walked to the door and Suddenly JJ felt someone hug her legs. She looked down to find Maisy there. "It's okay, I'll be right back. Go watch the movie honey" she said but Maisy didn't let go so she kneed down and said "Maisy, Julie needs you to stay with her now. Can you do that for me? Can you watch her for a little while?"  
Maisy thought about it and then walked back and sat on the couch. JJ heart ached as she watched the little girl limping slightly.  
They walked outside while the two girls watched the movie.

"Agent Hotchner explained that their Aunt will take them" Lorena said and Emily and JJ breathed out relieved to know the kids had somebody.

JJ noticed the woman still looked concern.  
"What's wrong?" JJ asked.

"She'll take the two younger ones. She doesn't want Maisy" Lorena said.

"What? She can't do that" JJ said a bit angry.

"We try to keep siblings together but with this case is hard. The aunt said Maisy is a bad kid, that she knows too much, she has seen too much and she doesn't want to have to deal with that. And we can't make her" Lorena said.

"So what's gonna happen then?" JJ asked.

"Connor and Julie will go with the aunt and Maisy will go into foster care" Lorena said.

JJ was so angry. How in the world could the woman just pick the kid from her own family she wanted to help. She felt disgusted.

"Isn't there anything you can do so they can stay together?" Emily asked.

"No. The chances of them being adopted together is almost none. This is the best we can do right now" Lorena said, Emily and JJ nodded.

"Is she coming?" JJ said.

"Yeah she'll be here any time now" Lorena said and suddenly the woman walked in. She was brunette and quite pretty. Her husband was with her and her oldest daughter too.

"Hello, I'm here for the Clarkson's" she told an officer and he pointed to the women standing close to the door.

"Oh wow he looks so big" she said when she saw Connor. "Hi I'm Kim" she said and shock Emily's hand. JJ Just stared at her angry.  
"Do I need to sign anything or?" She said and Lorena said yes and walked to a desk nearby with some papers. JJ and Emily followed.  
Kim and her husband signed everything and then Lorena asked "are you sure you can't take Maisy too? She doesn't have anybody else"

"I'm sorry ma'am but we can't" Kim said serious.

"Why not? She's a child, she didn't do anything wrong" JJ spitted out.

"Anything wrong? Oh you don't know Maisy. My sister was always complaining about how much trouble she is. I already have 2 of my own at home and I can't deal with Maisy. She's a bad girl, she never listens. Their lives fell apart the moment they had her." Kim said.

JJ had to try hard to keep her composure but she just wanted to hit that woman. How could she say that, the child had just turned 4, she was a baby.

"Well, that's all then" Lorena said and handed Connor to Kim's husband.

"Where's Julie?" Kim asked.

"She's watching a movie" Lorena said and they walked to the room where the girls were.

Emily and JJ walked in first and when Maisy spotted Kim she hugged Julie tight. She looked scared of the woman. Maisy didn't like her aunt Kim because she was mean to her and she always made Maisy's dad mad. 

**** **flashback - Maisy's POV** ****  
 _Aunt Kim and her family was coming to our house that day and daddy said we had to look nice, so mommy gave us all a bath together and put nice clothes on us and did our hair all pretty, even mine. She told us we had to behave and of course I listened to her. But when aunt Kim was at our house there was no telling how the day would go. It could be the best day ever or the worst. That day was the worst one. I was sitting pretty in the living room playing dolls with Julie when I noticed daddy looked bored. That look was one that I hated to see because it usually meant I was in trouble. Later that day aunt Kim said goodbye and went home. Daddy told Julie and I to go upstairs so we went to my room. He walked in and said "get on the bed. Both of you". I thought it was weird because Julie was never with me when he punished me for being bad so I asked "why is Julie here daddy?" He looked at me and said "we're gonna play a game today" daddy said with a smirk. "What game? I asked. "Shush!" Daddy yelled. He never liked when I asked questions. Suddenly mommy walked in the room. Her eyes widened when she saw Julie on my bed. "Thomas! Not julie!" She said angry as she walked in the room and picked Julie up. She left and I looked down. I was so sad I was alone again with daddy. I knew he wouldn't play with me once Julie left. "See what you did with your stupid questions!" Daddy yelled walking closer to the bed. He started unbuckling his belt and tears filled my eyes, it was the dark brown one and that was the worst one. Before he said anything I started to turn over but he stopped me. "Don't move" he said gently putting me back on my back. He was smiling and it was just so strange, he was never gentle like that before. I didn't feel scared until he pulled his thing out. I stared at his face trying to look away from that thing but he place his hand on mine head and made me look "watch me" he said all mean. He just moved one hand on his thing moving it up and down. The other hand was moving on my underwear between my legs. It felt so strange and I was so scared. He did that for a long time and then something white came out of him. It scared me and I cried. I shouldn't have done that. He got so mad. "I'll give you something to cry about" he said and pulled my panties down. He put his hand between my legs and suddenly I felt pain. He put his finger where the pee came out. At least I thought was that. He covered my mouth as I sobbed and screamed as he kept moving his finger there making it hurt really bad. I just cried till he stopped. He got up and I saw blood on his hand. I looked down and saw I had blood on me. "What did you do?! You peed?!" Daddy asked really mad. "Not again please daddy" I cried thinking he would do it again. "Get in the shower now!" He screamed but I didn't move. "Shower!" He yelled and mommy appeared at the door. She looked at me and saw what happened. "Thomas" she said sounding a bit sad. "What did you do?" She asked rushing to my side. "Mommy" I cried as she wrapped me in her arms. "It was just my finger. She's fine. Go give her a shower" he said and walked out. Mommy looked at me and I swear she looked sorry. She hugged me tight and suddenly my dad yelled "Shower!" and mommy took me to the bathroom. She cleaned me while I cried, then she put me on my bed that was now clean again. Dad walked in and said "she doesn't get dinner today. Babies who pee on the bed don't get to eat grownup food" he said and walked out. Mommy left with him and I cried myself to sleep. That was one night of many that daddy hurt me like that. And it happened every time Aunt Kim stopped by_.  
**** **end flashback** **** 

Maisy hugged Julie in a protective way.

"Sweetie, Julie needs to go with miss Kim now." Lorena said and Maisy shook her head no.

JJ walked to her and kneed down in front of her. "She needs to go Maisy" JJ said.

"Why?" Maisy asked.

"She'll go home with her for a while" JJ said.

"No" she said and hugged Julie.

"I need to go now. We have things to do" The Aunt, Kim, said. No one did anything so Kim walked inside and went to pick Julie up.

Maisy held her sister tight. "No! Julie! No!" She cried and the aunt ripped them apart and carried the 2 year-old outside. Maisy tried to run after them but Emily held her. Maisy just broke down as she watched her aunt leave the station with her siblings.  
"Julie!" Maisy cried.

"Come here, honey" JJ said and picked the girl up. The child rested her head on JJ's shoulder and just kept sobbing.  
"Julie will be okay. It's alright. Shuuuu" JJ kept saying as she walked around the room till the child calmed down.

It took a long time but eventually Maisy stopped crying so JJ sat down on the couch with the girl on her lap.

"What happens to me now?" Maisy asked.

"They'll find you a new mom and dad-" JJ started but Maisy cut her off.

"no! No! I don't want to! no!" She cried.

"No sweetie. they'll be good parents. They'll be good" JJ said.

"Do you promise?" Maisy asked.

"Yes I promise." JJ said.

"Is Julie gonna come too?" Maisy asked.

"I don't think she can, honey" JJ said feeling sorry.

"But why?" Maisy asked but JJ didn't know what to say.

So Emily answered... "Because Julie is very little. She barely talks yet. She needs to be with someone she already knows. Or she'll get really sad and scared"

"But she knows me" Maisy said sweetly.

"it's different, honey. She needs to be with a grownup that'll take care of her. Like your aunt Kim" Emily said

"But why did she take them and left me here? I didn't do anything wrong" she said.

"Sweetie, your aunt loves you very much but she can't take care of all of you. She has other kids too. She doesn't have enough money for everybody. She wants you to find a good family that will take care of you and love you very much" JJ said with tears in her eyes.

"Can't Julie come too? Please" Maisy begged.

"I don't think she can sweetie. She needs your aunt right now" JJ said and the girl looked really down. "But she'll be okay. I promise" JJ said.  
Maisy hid her face on JJ's chest and cried herself to sleep.

"So what exactly happens to her now?" JJ asked Lorena.

"She'll stay with your team till they have her mother in custody and then she'll be placed in a foster home." Lorena explained.

Suddenly Emily's phone rang and it was Hotch. He said they didn't find Liza but they'd keep looking. He told Emily and JJ to take Maisy to the hotel so she could get some sleep in a quieter place and they would stay in Stonebridge till Liza was found.  
Emily hung up and explained everything.

"So we'll see you when the case is over?" JJ asked.

"Yes. I'll come here to pick her up" Lorena said.

"Thank you" Emily said and shook the woman's hand.

"This is so unfair" Jennifer said when Lorena walked out.

"Let's take her to a warm comfy bed" Emily said with a small smile and JJ carried the sleeping girl to the car.

As soon as the car started Maisy's eyes shot open. She jumped on JJ who was sitting next to her in the backseat.

"Shuu it's okay. We're going to a hotel for a little while so we can sleep" JJ explained as the girl calmed down realizing Emily and JJ were still there with her. JJ threw one arm around Maisy's shoulder and they stayed quiet the rest of the ride.


	6. Chapter 6: Safe Now

They got to the hotel and when Emily parked the car Maisy whispered to JJ "why are we stopping?"

"That's the hotel we're staying" JJ said pointing to the building.

"What's a otel?" Maisy said mispronouncing it.

"It's called a Hotel, honey. And it's a building with a bunch of rooms that you can stay for a while when you're traveling" JJ explained gently tucking a curl behind the girl's ear.

"Can my mom come to hotel?" Maisy asked a little scared.

"No." JJ said and Maisy breathed out relieved. "She'll never hurt you again" JJ said and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Let's go?" Emily said.  
JJ unbuckled Maisy, got out of the car and carried the little one inside the hotel. They got inside the elevator and pressed 8, the elevator started going up and Maisy tightened her arm around JJ.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked worried and Maisy looked at her with a scared face and then looked around the elevator.  
"It's okay, honey. This is called an elevator and this takes us up to our floor so we won't need to use the stairs." JJ said.

"Elevator" Maisy said with her sweet little voice making JJ and Emily smile.  
They got to their floor and went to their room. JJ placed Maisy on the bed and asked if she wanted to watch some tv. The girl nodded yes so JJ sat with her and turned the tv on.

"I'm gonna shower" Emily said.  
Almost instantly Maisy cuddled up to JJ, a little scared.

"Okay" JJ said throwing her arm around Maisy's shoulder. She didn't realize why Maisy did that, she just thought she wanted to be close.

Emily took her time in the shower and when she walked out she found JJ and Maisy asleep cuddling on the bed. The little girl had her face hidden on Jennifer's belly. Emily laid on her bed and watched some tv, letting the two blondes rest.  
JJ woke up about half an hour later and sat on a table with Emily to work on some paperwork they had.  
They worked for about 20 minutes till a scream filled the room...

**** **Maisy's nightmare** ****  
 _"Wake up Maisy" my daddy said. I opened my eyes and I was in the hotel where I went with Jennifer. But as I looked around the room she was not there. Daddy was sitting at the end of the bed with a smirk on his face. "Hello my sweet angel" daddy said coming closer to me. "Please daddy no" I cried. "Shush!" Daddy yelled and ripped my pants off. He turned me around and took his belt out. That dark brown belt seemed to be even bigger this time. I felt so scared. "Please no" I cried but I'd didn't help. Daddy hit me and I screamed. He hit me again and another high pitched scream came out-_  
**** **end** ****

Maisy sat on the bed and looked around the room. When her eyes met JJ's she just ran to the woman. JJ scooped the girl up and rubbed her back gently repeating soothing words in the child's ear as Maisy cried.  
JJ felt her hand was wet so she looked to the bed. "Oh Maisy you had an accident" JJ said when she saw a pool of urine on the mattress.

"I'm sorry! Please don't be mad. Don't hurt me. I won't do again" Maisy cried scared.

"No sweetie, I'm not gonna hurt you. It's okay. It happens" JJ said sitting at the edge of the bed with Maisy in her arms. "It's okay" she said and slightly rocked the girl.  
Once Maisy calmed down, JJ said "let's get you cleaned up so we can order dinner".  
She stood up and carried Maisy to the bathroom. She put Maisy down close to the tub and when the girl saw where she was she hugged JJ's leg.

"No! Please no! I'll be good. I'll be good" Maisy cried.

JJ kneed down and faced the girl. "Honey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. But you need to take a bath"

"No! No bath! No!" Maisy cried, pushed JJ away and ran out of the bathroom. She tried to get to their room door but Emily quickly ran and got her before she opened to escape.  
The girl started kicking and screaming.  
"No! Let me go! I won't do it again! Don't hurt me Jennifer! Please No" she cried as Emily tried holding her tight.

JJ turned the shower on and said "bring her here"

Emily took Maisy back to the bathroom and JJ managed to pick her up. She held the child as tight as she could and stepped inside the shower with her, instead of using the bath tub.  
She let Maisy down and the girl yelled "No! No!" trying to get away but JJ wouldn't let go of her arm. The girl threw herself on the floor and JJ picked her up again. Maisy kept moving and crying trying to get away.

"Maisy stop. I'm not gonna hurt you" JJ said but Maisy kept screaming. JJ managed to hold Maisy's arms under hers and the child had a hard time moving. She held Maisy under the water and rocked her slightly as she rubbed her back gently. "Shuuuuuuu shuuuuu I'm not gonna hurt you" JJ kept saying.

Maisy started to calm down but she couldn't stop crying. JJ held her there for a while and then put her down and went to take her clothes off.

"No" Maisy cried scared.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I promise" JJ said and Maisy let her. JJ undressed the girl and handed the clothes to Emily who put it on the sink. She got the soap and went to clean Maisy.

"please no" Maisy whispered scared. She had not yet stopped crying.

"It's okay" JJ said and started. She cleaned Maisy's body up and the girl kept crying the whole time. When it came to the private area, JJ said "can you do it now?"

Maisy looked up and she looked so confused.

"You're a big girl. I know you can do that yourself" JJ said. Maisy did it and then just stood there staring at JJ.

"Can I wash your hair too?" JJ asked.  
Maisy shook her head no multiple times, terrified.

"Okay. Alright. We don't have to do that" JJ said as Maisy kept moving her head scared. "Shuu it okay. It's done now" JJ said quickly turning the shower off. Emily handed her a towel and she wrapped the girl up. She picked Maisy up and took her to the bedroom. "It's over, honey. All done" JJ said trying to calm Maisy down again as the girl cried.

After sometime Maisy fell asleep wrapped in the towel as JJ walked around the room.

"She's out" Emily said.

JJ put Maisy on Emily's bed and grabbed her go bag. She changed her clothes and then took a shirt and pajama's shorts out. She knew they'd be too big on Maisy but it was the smallest things she had.  
She unwrapped Maisy and the girl woke up.

"No!" She cried and took her knees to her chest when she realized she was naked.

"It's okay. I was going to get you dressed" JJ said. Maisy looked at her. "Do you want to put this on? It's cold" JJ said holding her clothes up. Maisy gave her a nod. "Come on" JJ said with a warm smile. Maisy looked scared but she got off the bed and let JJ dress her. "All done" JJ smiled.

"How about dinner now?" Emily asked.

"Are you hungry?" JJ asked Maisy. The girl just stood there and shook her head. "Are you sure?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded yes and butted into tears. It was all too much for her.

"Come here" JJ said and pulled the girl to her lap. No one knew exactly why Maisy was crying again but Emily and JJ just let her cry.

After a while Maisy calmed down and said very low "thank you"

JJ looked at Emily unsure if she heard it right.  
"What did you say, honey?" Emily asked.

Maisy looked up at JJ and said "thank you for not making it hurt"

The women's hearts sank. How could a 4 year-old feel the need to thank for not being hurt in the shower.

"No one here will ever hurt you like that, Maisy. Ever" JJ said.

"Promise?" Maisy said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I promise" JJ said and tightened her arms around the girl.  
She held Maisy for a while and the room was in complete silence till Maisy said "I'm sorry for kicking and screaming Miss Jennifer."

"You can call me JJ, honey." JJ smiled. "And it's okay. I know you were just scared" JJ said.

Maisy looked down and said "I thought you would do what daddy does"

JJ took a deep breath and asked "and what does your dad do?"

Maisy thought for a while and said "he hurt me in the bath"

"How did he hurt you?" Emily asked. They knew that talking about what happened and what was scaring her could maybe help her.

"He put his fingers where I pee and it hurts really bad" Maisy said and burst into tears.

JJ held her tight and rocked her slightly.  
"He's a very bad man for doing that. But He'll never do it again, Maisy. You're safe now. He'll never hurt you again" JJ said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

After that no one said anything for a long time.  
Maisy stopped crying and allowed herself to relax on JJ's arms.  
After some time Emily asked again if they wanted to eat something and this time Maisy said yes.

"Alright. So how about some Mac and cheese?" JJ asked and Maisy shook her head.  
"You don't like Mac and cheese?" JJ asked.

"My mom makes that all the time" Maisy said.

"You want something different?" Emily smiled as she saw the girl more relaxed with them.

"Can I have that bread thing again?" Maisy asked. Her voice so sweet that melted their hearts.

"Cheeseburgers?" JJ asked smiling and Maisy's face lit up.

"Well, we don't have that same one here but you can try the hotel's" Emily said.

"Okay" Maisy said.

"Alright then! I want that too" JJ said. "Cheeseburger and fries."

"What is fries?" Maisy asked intrigued.

"French fries" JJ said as she was saying the obvious.

"I don't know any French fries" Maisy said and Emily and JJ laughed.

"It's potatoes" JJ explained. "They cut them and they fry them"

"Oh. Like smilies?" Maisy asked. Her mom made that sometimes but they were round smily faces and Maisy called them smilies.

"Yeah like the smiling ones" JJ smiled as she remembered how much Henry loved the smily face fries.

"Can I have some of that too, please?" Maisy asked politely.

"Of course you can" JJ smiled.

Emily got the phone and ordered 3 cheeseburgers and fries, a box of apple juice and soda for them.

"Do you want to watch a movie while we wait?" JJ asked Maisy who nodded yes. JJ stood up and put Maisy down on the bed. She sat resting her back and opened her arms to the little girl. Maisy sat next to her and allowed JJ to wrap her arms around her. JJ smiled as she felt the child relax in her embrace.  
Maisy looked at the other bed and looked down a little sad.

Emily saw that and said "don't worry, honey. They'll change the bed for us"  
Maisy looked up confused.  
"I'm gonna call the hotel and they'll send someone up with a new mattress" Emily explained. "You don't have to worry" she said with a smile and Maisy gave her a little smile back. She called the hotel's front desk and in little time there was a knock on the door. The guy walked in to change the mattress and Maisy hugged JJ tight and looked away from him.

"It's okay. He won't hurt you" JJ whispered pulling Maisy to her lap and hugging her tight.  
The guy changed the mattress and left. Emily went to close the door and the food got there.

"Is there a little girl in this room that asked for cheeseburgers?" Emily smiled when she took the lid out. Maisy looked at her and smiled excited. Emily closed the door and pushed the cart a little further into the room.

"Let's go eat on the table?" JJ asked Maisy who smiled excited to have cheeseburgers again. JJ carried the girl and placed her on the chair. They sat and ate. Emily and JJ smiled the whole time as they watched Maisy eating her cheeseburger and her fries with a huge smile on her face.  
They finished dinner quickly and headed to bed. JJ laid down next to Maisy and the girl grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave" Maisy said.

"I'm not going anywhere" JJ said.

Maisy hid her face on JJ's belly and closed her eyes. She was scared that she could have bad dreams again but for the first time, in her entire life, she felt safe.  
She felt safe with JJ next to her.  
So she closed her eyes and let herself relax.


	7. Chapter 7: Motherly

Emily and Maisy slept peacefully the entire night. JJ, on the other hand, woke up several times to check on the little girl.

Around 6:30am, Emily woke up to find JJ awake texting someone.  
"Good morning" Emily said.

"Hi" JJ whispered as Maisy shifted on the bed.

"Any news?" Emily asked.

"They spent the night looking but..." JJ said and shook her head.

Emily noticed JJ had bags under her eyes. "Did you sleep?"

"Yeah" JJ said as if she was stating the obvious.

"J" Emily said raising her eyebrows.

"I woke up a few times to make sure she wasn't crying" JJ said looking at Maisy.

"You look exhausted" Emily said. "Try to sleep some more. I'll be here"

Jennifer gave Emily a small smile and laid back down. She couldn't deny, she was really tired.  
Maisy shifted again and hid on JJ's belly. JJ smiled, wrapped the girl in her arms and closed her eyes.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

Maisy woke up at 7:34 to find Emily sitting on the table in the corner working and JJ asleep next to her.

"Hi" Emily smiled when she saw the girl awake. Maisy rubbed her eyes. "Are you hungry?" Emily asked and Maisy shook her head. "Are you sure?" She asked and Maisy hid on JJ again.  
Emily walked to the bed and sat next to the girl.  
"I was thinking about eating pancakes, would you like some?" Emily asked softly.  
Maisy looked at her again and gave her a small nod. She loved pancakes, she couldn't say no to that.

"Alright." Emily smiled. "What do you want to drink? Apple juice?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded. Emily saw she didn't really seem to want that. "Do you want something else? You can tell me" Emily said.

"Milk" Maisy whispered.

"Chocolate or plain?" Emily asked.

"Just milk" Maisy said.

"Okay" Emily smiled and went to the phone. She ordered their food and sat back on the table. "Do you want to watch tv?" Emily asked. Maisy shook her head no and pointed at JJ. She didn't want to wake her up.  
Emily smiled and asked "do you like to draw?"

Maisy nodded.

"You can seat here with me and draw" Emily said. Maisy thought for a bit and then went to the table. Emily helped her sit and then handed her a few blank pages and a tiny box of crayons.  
Maisy started drawing and Emily went back to working as JJ slept peacefully on the bed.

Maisy drew a house and was drawing a big yellow sun when Emily said "that's very pretty Maisy". The girl smiled and said "thank you"

"Is that your house?" Emily asked and Maisy shook her head no.  
"Who lives there then?"

"I don't know" Maisy shrugged. Emily smiled and there was a knock on the door. Maisy slid under the table scared.

"It's okay it's just our breakfast" Emily said. "You can come out honey" she said handing out a hand. Maisy took it and Emily sat her down on the chair. Emily opened the door and the woman pulled their dinner tray out and the breakfast one in.

JJ woke up and smiled to see Maisy drawing on the table.

"Have a nice breakfast" the hotel lady said and left. Emily closed the door and saw JJ awake.

"Sorry we woke you" Emily said.

"That's okay. Did I hear breakfast?" JJ asked and Emily and Maisy smiled.

"You can eat with me" Maisy said alsmot a whisper.

"You want to share your pancakes?" JJ asked as she walked to the table.

"I don't mind" Maisy said with a little smile. JJ smiled back and sat with them to eat.

Breakfast went okay, they ate and talked about Maisy's drawing. Then they watched some tv. Around 10, Hotch called to let them know they had a new lead and asked them to work on something for him so the women let Maisy watch tv on the bed and sat at the table working.  
Two hours later Maisy was fast asleep on the bed.

"We need to get her some clothes" JJ said. "She can't keep wearing my ginormous pajamas" she laughed.

"I can go get her a few things and also lunch for us" Emily suggested.

"That'd be great. I'm starving" JJ smiled.

So Emily went out and JJ watched some tv. She peeked at the little girl on the bed from time to time. She didn't know why but she felt so attached to Maisy. It had never happened before but somehow Maisy had something that deeply connect them.

Emily got back a while later with some food and things for Maisy.

"This is so cute" JJ saw taking out a dress from the bag. Emily bought a tooth brush, two leggings, two dresses, two pajamas, some underwear, pink gloves, a pink winter coat and a sparkly pink converse for Maisy.

"I'm not sure that was her size but It was so cute and I think it might fit" she said when JJ took the converse out of the bag.

"Oh my god. Girls are fun to shop to" JJ laughed.

"Yeah. But honestly I never thought I'd buy those shoes... Ever" Emily said and they laughed which made Maisy wake up.

The girl moved on the bed and opened her eyes. She looked a bit scared.  
JJ and Emily saw but instead of asking what was wrong, JJ said Emily got her some presents.  
Maisy sat up on the bed and smiled the entire time JJ showed her what she got.

"I'm not sure if these will fit you but if they don't I can go back there to get another" Emily said handing the sparkly pink converse.

Maisy's face lit up and Emily and JJ smiled.

"That's for me?" Maisy asked in shock. She never got really pretty shoes like that before.

"Yeah. Try them on" JJ smiled. She helped the girl put it on.

"Do they fit?" Emily asked.

"Yeah they're perfect" JJ smiled as she looked at Maisy's big smile.

Maisy jumped off the bed and hugged Emily's legs. "Thank you" she said.

"You're welcome, sweetheart" Said Emily.


	8. Chapter 8: Trust

Maisy let go and turned to JJ.  
"Can I wear my dress?" Maisy asked.

"Of course you can..." JJ smiled. Since the girl looked so happy JJ decided to try to get her to take a shower by herself.  
"...but you need to do something first" JJ said.

"What?" Maisy asked.

"Since you want to wear your new clothes I thought that maybe you could take a quick bath. So you're all fresh and clean" JJ said hoping the girl wouldn't hate her.

Maisy looked down and said "I don't like bath"

"Maisy, your dad is not here. He can't hurt you like that anymore, and Emily and I will never ever do that to you" JJ explained. Maisy walked to her and JJ wrapped the girl in a hug. "You can do it all by yourself if you want. You're a big girl." JJ said.

"I can?" Maisy looked up at JJ's eyes and asked.

"Yeah" JJ smiled. "Do you want to try?"

Maisy took some time to think and then nodded.

"Let's go" JJ said and they walked to the bathroom.

"I'll be right here if you need me" Emily told JJ, sitting on the table again. Jennifer smiled and closed the bathroom door.

"I'll start running the water. Go ahead and take the pjs off" JJ said nicely before turning around and starting the water. She checked the temperature and turned to face Maisy. The girl was still standing there, she had not moved a muscle.

"Maisy you can't go in wearing clothes, honey" JJ said.

Maisy walked backwards until she was in the corner, she slid down the wall so she was sitting and brought her knees up to her chest.  
JJ kneed down in from of her and said "it's just so you can take a bath. I swear I won't even touch you"

Maisy just stared at JJ unsure of what to do. She was so scared, she didn't like baths.

JJ thought for a while and said "How about I close my eyes, and you tell me when you're in the tub?"

Maisy thought a little and began to stand up so Jennifer closed her eyes with her hands.  
Maisy took her clothes off and got inside the tub, she sat down and said "I'm in"

"Can I look?" JJ asked just to make sure.

"Yes" Maisy whispered.

JJ stood up and turned around to find Maisy sitting down with her knees to her chest.  
"I'm gonna sit on the toilet and close my eyes. When you're done or if you any help just tell me" she said and Maisy gave her a little nod. So JJ sat on the toilet and covered her eyes with her hands. Maisy slowly stood up and started to clean herself. JJ picked, from time to time, to make sure the girl was doing everything right.

"I'm done" Maisy said.

JJ opened her eyes to find Maisy sitting down again.

"What about your hair?" JJ asked and Maisy shook her head scared.  
"You don't like to wash it?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded. "Did your mom do that for you?" She asked and got another nod. This time Maisy looked down. She didn't like to remember.

"But you can do it yourself here. I don't have to do it" JJ said.

"I don't know how" Maisy whispered and JJ didn't understand.

"What, honey?" JJ asked.

"I don't know how" Maisy said.

JJ smiled and walked closer to the tub. "I can teach you" she said and Maisy looked up.

"Okay" Maisy said.

JJ slowly got a bucket full of water and explained what Maisy had to do. Maisy put the water on her hair and then shampooed it.

"My eyes" she said closing it tight as she felt it sting.

"Put your head back" JJ said and the girl did that. "Can I help?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded yes. So JJ finished washing Maisy's hair. The girl was tense and scared the entire time. But she let Jennifer do it.

"All done" JJ said. "You can open your eyes and come out now"

Maisy opened her eyes and JJ was smiling at her.

"Was it so bad?" JJ asked and Maisy shook her head no. "So come out so you can go put on that pretty dress" JJ smiled.  
Maisy got off the tub with JJ's help and then JJ wrapped her in a towel. JJ felt a lump in her throat as she stared at the girl's bruises.

"Go on" JJ said so Maisy would dry herself but Maisy looked at her and said "can you help me?"

JJ let out a little smile and helped Maisy dry herself. Once done JJ wrapped her in the towel, opened the door and took her to the bedroom.

Emily smiled to see that the little girl was calm and didn't have tear stains on her face.

JJ put Maisy down close to where the clothes were. "Which dress?" JJ asked.

Maisy pointed and JJ smiled. JJ helped her put the dress on, then the underwear and then the leggings because it was cold.

"Can I do your hair now?" JJ asked. Maisy tensed up. "I'll do it very slowly. I promise" JJ said.

"Okay" Maisy said.

JJ picked Maisy up and sat her on the bed. She got the hair brush and sat behind Maisy. She brushed the girl's blonde hair and she could see the kid was tense the whole time. Maisy's hair was tangled so it took a while to brush the knots out. Once JJ finished she got a little hair clip on her go bag and secured some hair away from the girl's face.  
"All done" she said.

Emily was watching with a big smile on her face. Maisy looked adorable, and JJ and Maisy's interacting was just so sweet to see.

"Do you wanna look?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded. JJ picked her up and took her to the mirror in the bathroom.  
Maisy smiled when she saw herself in the mirror.

"You look so pretty" JJ smiled. Maisy got embarrassed and wrapped her little arms around JJ's neck and hid her face. JJ laughed and walked back to the room.

"Do you want to draw some more, Maisy?" Emily asked. The girl looked at her and nodded yes. So JJ took her to the table.  
They sat there for a long time, Maisy drew while Prentiss and JJ worked on the laptop trying to help their team.

Around 3, JJ noticed Maisy was looking tired so she asked if she wanted to take a nap.

The girl shook her head no.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked. They could see she was almost falling asleep sitting there.

"Naps are for babies" Maisy whispered.  
Her dad used to tell her that all the time.

JJ looked at Emily and they just knew.

"What if I take a nap with you? I'm a little tired too" JJ suggested and Maisy looked at her.  
"Please?" JJ said with a small smile.

"Okay" Maisy gave up. She was trying so hard not to sleep because she didn't want them to get mad at her for wanting to sleep in the middle of the day.

JJ picked Maisy up and carried her to bed and they laid down. JJ stroke the girl's hair and Maisy fell asleep really quickly.  
JJ smiled as she saw the cute and now very soft curls on end of the girl's long blonde hair.  
She kept running her fingers through them and ended up falling asleep too.


	9. Chapter 9: Finding A Home

About an hour later JJ woke up. She smiled when she saw Maisy had a tight grip on her shirt and was hiding in her stomach.

"You are so in love with her" Emily said with a smile. JJ sat up and covered Maisy up, ignoring her friend's comment.  
"JJ, you know she's getting attached to you, right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" JJ said.

"They found Liza" Emily spitted out.  
Hotch had called her about 30 minutes earlier to let her know they found the woman at a farm about 20 minutes away from downtown Stonebridge.

JJ breathed out relieved to know that but then she looked at Maisy and she felt a lump on her throat.

"You know cps will take her now. We need to get her ready" Emily said.

"Yes Emily I know" JJ said a little out of patience, getting off the bed and walking to the bathroom. She really didn't want to think about that.

"Hey" Emily said grabbing her friend's hand when JJ walked past her, making JJ look at her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing" JJ said a bit upset.

"I know it's not nothing. Don't lie to me" Emily said standing up. "You really like her don't you?"

"Yes I do" JJ said serious. "I just..." she said and looked down. "I want to take her. The moment she held my hand in the hospital, I just..."

"You should then" Emily said and Jennifer gave her a look.  
"Will" Emily said realizing that JJ couldn't just say she'd take the girl home with her and that was it, she had a husband and a son waiting for her already.

"Exactly" JJ said. "I texted him and told him that we were in the hotel with her but I need to talk to him about all of this... but I know he'll want to think about it and I just... I can't let her go with them. She's 4 and she's been through so much. And...We can't control where they'll take her. What if she ends up with someone bad? We don't know" JJ said.

"I'll take her for a while" Emily said. "I'll foster her for as long as needed" Emily said.

"Really? Would you really do that?" JJ asked surprised.

"Of course" Emily smiled. "I see the way you are with her. It's different. You never treated anybody else like that, only Henry. And honestly... I knew... from the moment you asked that doctor to give her some time. I knew you wouldn't let her go anywhere" Emily said.

"Are you sure about this?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Emily smiled.

"Thank you" JJ said and gave Emily a hug. "I'm gonna talk to Will soon" JJ said.

"You don't have to hurry, okay? She can stay at my house for as long as you need" Emily said and JJ nodded.

"Thank you" JJ said.

Emily smiled, she could see how JJ was relieved. Emily was a bit scared of doing that but she wanted to do it for JJ. She knew Will would need to think about it and Maisy would end up in a foster home while they decided. She really didn't want the girl to be even more scared, so she wanted to help.

JJ really wanted to just go home and take Maisy with her but she knew she had to talk to Will about it. She was very thankful Emily wanted to help her though.  
JJ and Emily sat together and talked a bit about what the next steps would be to take Maisy to DC with them. Both knew they'd have to stay a little longer in Denver so JJ text Will.

JJ: " _Emily and I are staying here to solve a few things regarding the girl_ "

Will: " _okay. Your boy misses you. Don't be long"_

JJ: " _tell him I love him and I'll be home soon. And Will... we need to talk"_

Will: " _I will. And what's wrong? You've been a little off lately"_

JJ: " _I can't talk about this over text message"_

Will: " _call_?"

JJ stared at it and decided to call him.  
"I'll be right back" JJ told Emily and went outside their room. She stood in the hallway and called Will.

"Hi love, what's wrong?" Will said.

"I don't even know how to ask you this" JJ said letting out a little nervous laugh. She was so scared.

"What is it JJ?"

"Have you ever thought about having another child?" JJ asked.

"Are you pregnant?" Will asked shocked.

"No. no I'm not. I just..."

"You just what? What's going on JJ?"

"Remember the little girl I told you about? Maisy" JJ said.

"Yeah" Will said.

"She doesn't have a place to go. Her aunt took her siblings and simply left her behind" JJ said. "And I just... I want to help her. I need to help her"

"You want to take her?" Will asked shocked.

"Yes" Jennifer said.

"JJ we can't decided something like this over the phone, love. We never even talked about adding a new member to our family and especially not like this. We have no idea how Henry will react or how she'll be at home. We can't just bring someone new like this. With a baby we'd have nine months to prepare everything but..." Will said.

"Will, I can't leave her here. I just can't" JJ said. "I don't know why but somehow..." she started but even her didn't know how to explain what she was feeling. Somehow she already loved Maisy. She didn't even know that was possible but she truly loved that girl.

"Look, Emily said she'll foster her for a while so we can talk about this and talk to Henry" JJ said.

"She will?"

"Yeah. We're probably going to need to stay for a while longer to get her papers" JJ said.

"JJ what if.." will started.

"What if what?" JJ said a little upset.

"What if we decide not to? What happens to her then?" Will asked.

"She goes into foster care" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears. "Please just think about, okay? You'll meet her and you'll see" she said.

"We'll talk when you get back" Will said. "I gotta go"

"Okay. Bye"

"Bye" He said and hung up.

JJ stood in the hallway and she could feel her heart pounding. She sat down resting her back on the wall and allowed herself to cry. She just let it out. " _What if Will doesn't want another child_? " was all she could think about.

Suddenly she heard a door opening. She looked up to find Maisy with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What happened?" JJ asked worried, opening her arms to the child. Maisy walked to her and JJ pulled the girl to her lap and wrapped her arms around her while Maisy cried.

"Ba- bad dr- dream" Maisy said with a shaky voice.

"Shuuuuu I'm right here. It was just a dream it's not real" JJ said.

"I woke up and I was alone" Maisy said.

"Let's go back inside" JJ said. Maisy stood up and then JJ stood up. They walked back inside the room and suddenly Emily walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"What happened?" Emily asked worried as she saw both blondes had tears in their eyes.

"She had a bad dream" JJ explained.

"Oh" Emily said. She walked to her bag and got her clothes out and then went back to the bathroom.

JJ sat on the bed and pulled Maisy to her lap. "Are you Okay?" She asked and Maisy nodded and hid her face on JJ's belly. "Are you still sleepy?"

"Yeah" Maisy said.

"How about a movie now?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded so JJ put her down on the bed and got the remote. She laid next to the girl and Maisy cuddled up to her.

They watched the movie for a while and then Emily walked out of the bathroom all dressed.

"Hotch called and said they're on their way here." She said and JJ nodded. "They want to grab dinner at the hotel's restaurant"

JJ looked at Maisy and said "do you wanna go?"

Maisy thought and then shook her head no.

"It will be fun. My friends are all really nice and Emily and I will be right there with you" JJ said.

Maisy thought again and said "okay". JJ and Emily smiled.

They just hung out in the hotel room till around 8pm when someone knocked on the door. It was Morgan.  
JJ and Emily had explained to Maisy how dinner would probably be like. They talked about their friends and told the girl that if she wanted to go back to the room she could just ask.  
When Morgan got there Maisy was a little scared.  
"It's okay. He's my friend, remember? He'll never ever hurt you" JJ said. "Let's put your coat on." She said and got Maisy's new pink coat. Maisy got off the bed and JJ helped her put on.  
"Now go get your shoes on" JJ said and Maisy got her shoes and sat down on the floor to put them on.

The girl stared at it for a while and then said "I can't close"

JJ, Emily and Derek looked at her and she had her shoes on but the laces weren't tied.

"Can I help?" Derek asked.

Maisy looked at JJ and JJ gave her a nod with a smile so Maisy nodded yes. Derek walked to her and tied her shoes.

"There you go" he said once finished.

"Let's go then?" JJ asked.

Maisy stood up and ran to JJ. The woman picked the girl up and they headed out.

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Dinner went better then they expected.  
Maisy was a bit nervous in the beginning but with JJ by her side she quickly warmed up to the team. She didn't really like Hotch but she got along with everyone else, especially Spencer.  
He was proudly showing her his magic tricks and the girl was fascinated by it.  
They had pasta for dinner and Maisy ate it all very happily. She got tensed a few times and was always making sure JJ was right there next to her but she did amazing. Way better then any of them expected.  
By the end of the night, the girl was really tired. It was a little over 10pm when JJ noticed Maisy was fighting her sleep.

"Come here" she said and pulled the girl to her lap. Maisy rested in JJ's chest and closed her eyes. She fell asleep really quickly, so the team started talking about the case and about her.  
JJ told them she wanted to take the girl and Morgan asked about Will. So she explained that they had talked and he wasn't very sure about it, so Emily would foster the girl for sometime till they decided exactly what they'd do.

"The jump to two kids is not an easy one" Hotch said.

"I know" JJ said. "But I can't just..". She said looking at Maisy.

Spencer smiled. He knew JJ well enough to know she was totally in love with that little girl.  
"She does look like your daughter" Spencer said.

Everyone around the table looked at Maisy who was sleeping peacefully in JJ's arms. She had her thumb in her mouth and she looked absolutely adorable.  
Jennifer and Maisy's hair color was almost exactly the same. The girl did look like Jennifer's biological child.  
The team smiled as they watched the way Jennifer was looking at the girl.

"I'm sure Henry will love her" Rossi said.

JJ looked up and smiled.


	10. Chapter 10: Temporary

The next morning, JJ and Emily woke up around 8 and sat at the table to talk while Maisy slept.

"Did you talk to Will?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. He said we'll talk when I get back" JJ said looking worried and Emily gave her a nod. "He didn't really sound like he wants this"

"He needs time to think, JJ." Emily said and suddenly her phone rang. It was Hotch. He told her that CPS called and they were sending the social worker. He explained everything to Emily and they hung up.

"So?" JJ asked worried.

"Hotch said Lorena will be working on her case still. And that CPS is sending her today" Emily said.

"What? Today?!" JJ said scared. Maisy shifted on the bed and Emily shushed JJ.

"In about an hour. But calm down. He said that he told them about someone on the team wanting to take the girl. So they said that we have to talk to Lorena and she'll tell us exactly what to do" Emily said.

"So they're not taking her away?" JJ asked.

"I don't think so" Emily said.

"You don't think so?" JJ said low but a little angry. "No! They can't just come and take her away!"

Emily shushed her again and when she looked at the bed her heart broke. "Maisy" Emily said feeling bad.  
Maisy was awake and she had tears streaming down her face.

"Oh honey" JJ said and walked to the bed. Maisy threw herself in JJ's arms.

"I don't wanna go" Maisy cried. She was so scared.

"Shuu it going to be okay" JJ said.

"Please I don't wanna go! I wanna stay here with you! I wanna stay with you" Maisy kept crying.

"I know, honey. I know" JJ said feeling bad. She rocked Maisy for a while and the girl started to calm down. Once JJ saw she was calmer she decided to explain.  
"Maisy, do you remember that lady that took your brother and your sister to the police station?" JJ said and Maisy nodded. "She'll come here today"

"Why? Is she gonna take me back to them?" Maisy asked sounding scared.

"No no, honey." JJ said. "Look" she said and Maisy looked her in the eyes. "They found your mom toda-"

Maisy cut her off "no! Please i don't want mom. Don't. I don't.. I wanna stay here" Maisy cried.

"Shuu! Maisy look at me. Listen to me" JJ said as Emily walked to the bed. Maisy looked at her but the tears kept falling and she looked scared.

"You're never going to live with your mother again. She did a lot of bad things. No one will take you back to her now. Do you understand?" JJ said.

"Not even that lady? Or aunt Kim?" Maisy asked.

"No. they can't take you to her. Not to her and not to your dad. You're safe now" JJ said.

Maisy hid her face on JJ.  
Maisy wanted to believe so bad but something deep down kept telling her that they'd find her and they'd get her back.

JJ looked at Emily and she wasn't sure of how to explain their plan. So Emily started...

"Maisy, do you remember how JJ talked to you about them finding you a new mom and Dad? Good ones"

Maisy looked at Emily and said "I just want to stay here."

"I know you do. We know" JJ said.

"But this is a hotel Maisy. It's not a house and you can't live in a hotel" Emily said.

"Can I live in your house?" Maisy innocently asked JJ. "I'll be good. I'll be really good. I promise" she said crying. She was just so scared to leave JJ's side.

"Maisy, as much as I want that, I can't just take you to my house" Jennifer said with tears in her eyes.

"Why not? I'll be good" Maisy cried.

"I know you'll be good, honey. I know" JJ said as she wiped Maisy's cheek. "Look." She said. "I can't just take you home with me right now"

Maisy looked down.

"I want to do that Maisy but it's complicated right now" JJ said. "I have a husband and a son and I need to talk to them first."

The little girl had stopped crying but she was upset and scared.  
JJ looked at Emily and raised her eyebrows as a sign for Emily to talk.

"Maisy" Emily said. "How about you come to my house for a while?" She asked and the girl looked at her. "Would you like to do that?"

"You don't have a husband?" Maisy asked.

"No. it's just me" Emily said. "And my cat" she added.

"You have a cat?" The little girl asked shyly.

JJ and Emily smiled.

"I do" Emily said. "Do you want to see a picture?"

Maisy nodded.

Emily got her phone and pulled up a picture of Sergio laying on her couch.  
"This is Sergio" Emily said and handed the phone to Maisy. "that day he laid on my couch all afternoon" Emily said and Maisy smiled.

"He's cute huh?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded and handed the phone back to Emily.

"So would you like to come stay with me and Sergio?" Emily asked.

"Till you talk to your husband?" Maisy asked JJ.

"Yeah" Jennifer said.

"But what if he says no?" Maisy asked with tears in her eyes.

"Then you"ll stay with me" Emily said.

JJ looked at Emily shocked and Emily just smiled. There was no way she was letting that sweet 4 year-old go to a strangers' house.

Maisy thought for a while and said "Okay then". She was scared but she always wanted a pet so she thought it would be okay with Sergio there.

"Really?" JJ asked with a smile. She was happy the girl understood and wasn't mad at her.

Maisy nodded and then looked at Emily. She looked tense and like she wanted to say something.

Emily kept smiling and said "go on"

Maisy said "can I ask you something?"

"of course" Emily said.

"Are you good like her?" Maisy asked and then looked at JJ.

"Maisy, I promise she's very very good. I would never let you go with someone that was bad" Jennifer said.

"You not gonna hurt me like them, are you?" Maisy said.

"No. I swear I won't" Emily said. She got off the bed and walked closer to where JJ and Maisy were sitting and sat next to them. She took Maisy's hand in hers.  
"I promise that I'll take good care of you, okay?" Emily said. "Maisy, what your parents did was very very bad and no child should have to go through that. But I swear that I will never ever hurt you like that. Ever. Okay?"

"Okay" Maisy whispered and hid her face on JJ.

"And JJ is going to visit you and we'll go out. You'll see her all the time" Emily said.

"I will?" Maisy asked looking at JJ.

"Yes." JJ smiled and Maisy smiled back.

There was a moment of silence and then Emily said "so... in about an hour, that lady, uhmm Lorena, will come here and we're going to talk to her and see everything I have to do to take you with me. Okay?"

Maisy nodded.

"So let's get ready for that?" JJ asked and Maisy shook her head no. "You don't want to wear another pretty dress?"

Maisy looked down.

"What's wrong Maisy?" Emily asked.

"I don't wanna take bath" Maisy whispered. Emily looked at JJ.

"You don't need one right now. You can do that tonight before bed" JJ said. "Okay?"

Maisy nodded.

"So let's go change your clothes." JJ said and got off the bed. Maisy followed her and Jennifer helped the girl change right there in the room.  
When Maisy was dressed, JJ told her to sit on the bed and watch some tv while she showered. So Maisy did as told.

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A while later Jennifer walked in the room to find Maisy sitting in the exact same position watching tv. JJ smiled and grabbed her clothes.

"Em?" JJ said and Emily, who was sitting at the table reading something on her phone, looked up.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Can you get her hair done? Or we're gonna be late" JJ said and walked back in the bathroom.

Maisy looked at Emily and Emily could tell the girl was scared.

"Can I?" Emily asked and Maisy shook her head no. "I'll do it very slowly like JJ" Emily said.  
Maisy thought for a while and then walked to Emily. Emily got the hair brush, placed Maisy on the bed and sat behind her. She brushed the girl's hair slowly and carefully.

"Ow" Maisy said when Emily brushed out a knot too quick and pulled her hair.

"I'm sorry" Emily said feeling bad. She paid more attention to it and brushed it all.  
"Done" Emily said. "Do you want a pony tail or something like that?" Emily asked and Maisy shook her head no, she had enough of all that hair brushing, she just hated it.

"Alright, then go get your shoes on" Emily said and Maisy went.

As Maisy sat on the floor and put her shoes on she kept tucking hair behind her ears because it was falling on her face. Emily saw, grabbed a hair clip and walked to her.  
"Maisy, do you want to put this on to help keep that hair away?"

Maisy nodded and Emily put the hair clip on her.  
"Thanks" Maisy whispered.

"You're welcome" Emily smiled and stood up.

"Miss Emily" Maisy said.

"Just Emily is fine, sweetie"

"Emily, can you help me with my shoes? I can't do it" Maisy asked playing with the laces.

"Of course I can" Emily said kneeing down. She tied Maisy's converse.

JJ walked out of the bathroom all dressed and ready. She found Emily helping Maisy and she couldn't help but smile.  
She was a little scared before about how Maisy would react to Emily being the one taking her home but now she believed the girl would be okay.  
She could see Maisy was trying to really trust Emily too. She just hoped it would be soon.

"All done?" JJ asked.  
Maisy smiled when she heard JJ's voice. She got up quickly and walked to Jennifer.  
"You look so good" JJ said putting her hand on the girl's cheek.

"Thank you" Maisy smiled and wrapped her arms around JJ's leg. Jennifer scooped the girl up and they headed to the hotel's restaurant.

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Emily and JJ walked in the restaurant to find Lorena and Hotch waiting for them. JJ was holding Maisy and the girl hid her face when she saw Hotch and the woman.  
They walked to the table and sat. Maisy refused to let go of JJ so she let the girl sit on her lap.

"So I was told that someone was interested in fostering her" Lorena started.

"Yes, I am" Emily said.

"Oh you?" Lorena said surprised. "I thought it was Agent Jareau."

"I'm married. I can't decided something like this on my own. But the plan is for her to come with me later on" JJ said.

"Oh I see" Lorena said.  
The woman could see Maisy was attached to Jennifer.

"They want to know what is the next step" Hotch said.

"Well, that is a lot of paperwork." Lorena said. "Agent Prentiss will need to file to be her foster parent and CPS will need to go through all the papers. Once you're approved they'll send the case to the judge to sign."

"And how long does that take?" Emily asked.

"Usually 5 days to two weeks. It really depends. But the faster we get your documents the better" Lorena said.

"Do I send them to you or...?" Emily asked.

"I have the forms you need to fill out here and once you're done you can gather it all with a copy of your documents and send it to my office" Lorena said handing a folder to Emily.

"Alright" Emily said. She opened the folder and there was a lot of papers inside. "Wow" she said.

"Is there any way we can make this go faster?" Hotch asked.

"Paper wise there is nothing I can do. But I can let her stay here with you since she was a witness, instead of taking her to an orphanage or a foster home" Lorena said. "She doesn't have to go through more trauma"

"Thank you" JJ said. Maisy hid her face on JJ the entire time and everyone could see she was scared.

"So what are my chances on this?" Emily asked.

"The state wants what's best for her. And I want that too. She deserves a good home and I'm pretty sure you and Agent Jareau will make sure she has that" Lorena said.

Emily nodded.

"Do you have any other questions?" The woman asked.

"No. I think that's it" Emily said.

"Alright, so send me everything as soon as possible and here's my number if you have any questions" Lorena said handing Emily her card and then standing up.

"Thank you so much" Emily said. She stood up and shook Lorena's hand. Hotch did the same. JJ went to get up but failed, Maisy hugged her tighter so she just sat back and let out a little laugh.  
Lorena smiled and said "bye maisy" but the girl kept hiding.

"How about some pancakes now?" JJ asked and Maisy looked at her. "Uhmm I'm pretty sure I can see a little smile in there" JJ said giving Maisy a little tickle and Maisy couldn't hold it and smiled. JJ hugged her and Emily and Hotch smiled at the scene.

They ate breakfast and midway through it the rest of the team got there.

"Good morning my nerds" Rossi said and took a seat next to JJ's.

"Hi Maisy" Spencer said and the little girl smiled. She liked him a lot. "Are those pancakes good?" He asked.

"Yes" Maisy said and took another fork full.

Everyone smiled as they saw how relaxed the girl was.  
They ate breakfast and talked about the meeting with the social worker. Once everyone was done, Hotch and Morgan left so JJ asked if Spencer and David could keep Maisy occupied so Emily and her could fill the papers. They said yes, so the rest of the morning was spent at the hotel's restaurant. They order coffee and snacks from time to time.  
While Emily and JJ worked on the papers, Rossi and Spencer tried to keep Maisy entertained. The girl did some drawing, Spencer did a bunch of magic tricks and then Rossi bought two puzzles at the hotel's gift shop for them to do.  
They headed back to their rooms around 11:20am.

"Say bye" JJ told Maisy.  
The little girl smiled and waved at Rossi and Spencer.

"See you later Maisy" Reid said and they left.

"Let's go?" JJ asked Maisy and the girl nodded. She was tired of sitting there.  
They got up to leave and Hotch walked in.

"Hi. Are you all done?" He asked surprised.

"Yes. We did it together and Reid checked it all out" Emily said. "So now all we need to do is take this to her office" Emily said.

"What about your documents?" Hotch asked.

"Garcia just sent them and Lorena will print it out" Emily said. She had called Penelope and explained what was going on and of course Garcia was over the moon and wanted to help them.

"Okay. I'll see you when you get back then" Hotch said.

JJ picked Maisy up and they headed to their room. Emily picked up a jacket and a few other things and they headed to the car. Maisy was a little scared so she refused to let go of JJ.  
Jennifer sat on the back with Maisy while Emily drove to Lorena's office.


	11. Chapter 11: Happy Child

JJ carried Maisy inside. Emily went to the front desk and soon they were allowed to go into Lorena's office.

"You're done already?" Lorena asked impressed.

"We want to go to DC as soon as possible" Emily said.

Lorena smiled and got the papers.  
"All your documents are here already and now I'll go through everything with our team here and I'll call you as soon as I get the results" Lorena said.

"Okay. Thank you" Emily said.

"What's the next step?" JJ asked.

"As soon as we get your papers checked I'll take those to the court house for a judge to sign and then you'll need to come here to sign it too. And that's it." Lorena said.

"Isn't there an interview she has to do?" JJ asked.

"I talked to Agent Hotchner a while ago and I don't think that's necessary. Another social worker will be assigned to her case once you're in DC and she'll stop by your house just for a check" Lorena said.

Emily nodded.

"Agent Jareau, Once you go in to do this then you'll probably need to go through all of that in DC." Lorena told JJ who nodded.

"Well, thank you so much for fastening this" Emily said. Lorena gave her a nod and they said their goodbyes and they headed to the car.

"So what should we do now?" JJ asked Maisy. The girl shrugged.

"Anybody hungry?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded.

"We could go to the mall? Go for a little walk and then eat?" JJ said.

"How does that sound Maisy?" Emily asked the girl.

"What's the mall?" Maisy asked and JJ smiled.

"Well, a mall is a place with a bunch of different stores and places to eat" Emily said.

"Cool" Maisy said with a little smile. Emily and JJ could see she got a little excited.

"Do you want to go there?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.

"Alright then. Let's go" Emily smiled and they headed to the mall Emily had spotted on their way there.

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They walked around the place and Maisy eyes were sparkling. The girl was so amused by it. She had never been to a place like that before.  
JJ carried her the whole time but when they got to a toy store JJ asked if she wanted to pick a toy.

"Really?" Maisy asked in disbelief. Her parents never ever let her pick out toys. She had never even been to a toy store before.

"Really" JJ smiled and put Maisy down. She held the girl's tiny hand and they walked inside ToysRUs.  
Maisy looked around the place for a while keeping a tight grip on JJ's hand. She was excited but she was also nervous because there were a lot of people inside the store.

They looked around for some time and Maisy ended up choosing a horse stuffy.  
"Are you sure that's the one?" JJ asked.

"Yes" Maisy said. So they paid and walked out of the store.

"Can I carry him?" Maisy asked.

"Sure" JJ said and took the horse out of the bag and handed it to Maisy. They walked for a bit and suddenly a lot of people gathered close to the escalators. Maisy got scared. She stopped walking and hugged JJ's legs. Jennifer scooped the girl up and Maisy rested her head on JJ's shoulder and held her horse stuffy tightly.

"Let's eat now?" Emily asked and they went to eat lunch at the food court.

"What do you want to eat Maisy?" JJ asked putting Maisy down.

"Cheeseburger!" Maisy said excited and took a seat next to JJ.

"We can't have cheeseburgers everyday Maisy. Why don't you try something different right now?" Jennifer said and Maisy looked down sad.

"How about you try something else now be then for dinner you have a cheeseburger?" Emily asked as she sat down facing JJ.

Maisy looked up and nodded.

"Alright" Emily smiled.

JJ looked around the food court and said "do you want spaghetti?" Maisy nodded yes.

"I'll go get it" Emily said. JJ told Emily what she wanted and Emily went to order their food.

"Does this horse have a name?" JJ asked Maisy.

Maisy thought for a while and then said "Buzz"

"Buzz? That's a good name. He looks like a Buzz to me" JJ said and Maisy giggled.

"Thank you for giving me Buzz" Maisy said. JJ smiled big and wrapped Maisy in a hug.

"You're welcome, pumpkin" JJ said and Maisy laughed at the nickname.

A while later Emily got back with their food. Maisy started eating and her blonde hair was getting on it.

"Maisy, can I do a ponytail on you?" JJ asked and Maisy quickly shook her head no. "But your hair is touching your food" JJ said.  
Maisy looked down and said "okay".  
JJ got a hair tie from her bag and made a ponytail on the girl's hair. "All done" she said and Maisy smiled.  
Maisy was surprised that it didn't hurt at all. When her mother did it always hurt. But with JJ was different.

All three ate and then decided to go back to the hotel.  
As they walked to the exit Maisy spotted a game place. Her eyes wondered around and she looked interested, JJ smiled at Emily.

"Do you want to go in there?" Emily asked. Maisy shook her head no.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.  
Emily and JJ could see she was lying. They could see she wanted to go.  
JJ kneed down and faced Maisy. "You can tell me if you want something. It's okay" JJ said and Maisy looked down. "I can't promise I'll always say yes but it doesn't hurt to ask" JJ said.

"Yes it does" Maisy whispered. She had learned from her parents that she should never ever ask for things. If she did there would be consequences and those were no fun.

JJ looked at Emily. They were both heart broken.  
"Look" JJ said and Maisy looked at her. "Emily and I will never hurt you, Maisy. It's okay to ask us and tell us anything. We won't get mad at you, sweetie"

Maisy hugged JJ and started crying. Jennifer stood up with Maisy wrapped on her.  
She didn't say anything, she just walked to the game place. They walked around for a while looking at all the games and Maisy stopped crying.

Emily saw there was a train and asked if Maisy wanted to go in it.  
Maisy thought for a while and nodded yes. JJ got tickets and took the girl to the little train. JJ put Maisy down and the girl went and sat on the train. At first Maisy was a little confused about it. She liked how it went around but she wasn't sure about what she was supposed to do inside as it kept going around and around.  
Suddenly when the train faced JJ and Emily, Emily made a funny face at Maisy and the girl smiled. When it went again, JJ and Emily made another funny face and Maisy giggled. The next time it went around, Maisy was the one making a funny face. And that's what she kept doing as the train went on and on.  
Emily and Jennifer smiled at every funny face Maisy did. Both women felt so happy that the girl was happy.  
Maisy looked like any other happy kid in the game place and JJ absolutely loved that.


	12. Chapter 12: Bad Memories

They had a peaceful night in the hotel.  
The next morning they watched some tv and just hung out. They had lunch at the hotel's restaurant with the rest of the team and as they walked to their room Lorena called. She told Emily that the judge had signed everything and now all she had to do was stop by to sign the papers and that was it. Emily told JJ they can go and they left. Maisy refused to let go of JJ when they walked inside the woman's office. Emily signed everything with a smile on her face. She was happy Maisy would be safe now.  
Once she had everything signed, Lorena wished her good luck with everything and they left. When they got to the car Emily sat on the driver's seat and JJ sat on the back with Maisy.  
Emily shut the door and that made a loud noise making Maisy jump.  
Suddenly images started filling the little girl's mind.

**** **Flashback - Maisy's POV** ****  
" _Open the door right now Maisy!" I heard daddy yell as I hid under my bed. "1...2..." he counted and I ran to the door. I knew it better then to not open when he was counting._  
 _I opened it and Daddy just grabbed my upper arm and dragged me to the bed. He threw me on it and said "bend and do not move" he yelled taking his belt out. Usually I did what he told me but as I saw that dark brown belt I just couldn't do it. That was the one that hurt the most and I was too scared. "Maisy" he said between his teeth. He was getting so mad but I was just too scared I couldn't move. He grabbed me and put me where he wanted me to be. "Now don't you dare move a muscle." He said and folded the belt. He started wailing at my butt over my clothes. I stayed still and didn't make a sound, but this time I couldn't help and the tears fell from my eyes. I tried not to cry but it couldn't hold it, it was hurting too bad this time. "Now you know who's the boss in this house!" Daddy yelled. Once he stopped hitting me with his belt he pulled my pajamas pants down to see the damage. He stood up and pulled me up with him. "To the bathroom" he said. "No daddy please" I cried. "Now!" He yelled and I walked to the bathroom next to my bedroom. When I walked in mommy was inside. "Take your clothes off Maisy" mommy said. "Mommy" I cried scared. "Take it off" she yelled at my face and pulled me to her. I didn't move so she just ripped them off herself. She picked me up and put me inside the bathtub. I felt it stinging as the water hit the cuts from daddy's belt. I cried and she slapped my face. She bathed me and then wrapped me in a towel and took me to my bedroom. "Get dressed and go downstairs to eat dinner" mommy said. I did as told and went. During dinner they didn't even look at me. I wanted mommy and daddy to love me like they loved Julie and Connor, I felt like crying I wanted to cry but I knew better. Once dinner was over I brushed my teeth and went to bed. I laid down and just cried. I just cried. It was hurting everywhere. But I shouldn't have cried because daddy heard and he walked in. He was mad. "Do you need more?" Daddy asked and I shook my head scared. "So shut the fuck up and straight to sleep, it's late" he said with a smirk. I got under the cover and he said "You better not get up from that bed until I come get you. Understood?" I nodded and said yes. "Yes what?" He yelled. "Yes sir. Yes sir" I said and he walked out and shut the door making a loud noise which made me jump._  
**** **END** **** 

"Everything okay?" JJ asked as she noticed Maisy looked scared.

"Yes" Maisy whispered but Jennifer could see she was scared.

"Oh Maisy" JJ said. "It's going to be okay" she said and gave the girl a hug.

"We can go home now, Maisy" Emily smiled.

"Home?" Maisy whispered scared as her eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to go to her home.

JJ just knew and said "to Emily's home, honey"

Maisy looked at her and started crying.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked confused.

"I scared" Maisy cried.

Emily got out of the car, walked around and got on the backseat too.  
"There's nothing for you to be scared about Maisy" Emily said. "I promise it's going to be okay"

"You won't hurt me? Right?" Maisy cried.

"No, honey, of course not" Emily said. She pulled Maisy to her lap and hugged the girl. Maisy started calming down.  
"I promise I'll never hurt you. And you'll see JJ all the time. Alright?" Emily said just knowing the girl was scared about that too.  
Maisy looked at her and Emily wiped tears front he girl's cheeks.  
"How about we go get you some new clothes now?" Emily asked but Maisy stayed quiet. "We can go to the mall again and get some new clothes and then you can go on the train. How about that?" She said and Maisy nodded.  
"Alright. Buckle up then" Emily smiled. Maisy got off Emily's lap and JJ helped her buckle up.  
To the mall they went.

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"The pink or the purple?" Emily asked Maisy, holding up a pink dress and a purple dress.

"Pink!" Maisy said smiling.

They had a really great time shopping. Emily refused to let Jennifer pay for Maisy's clothes. They bought two dresses, three shirts, two leggings, a jacket, a pair of jeans, two shorts, a scarf, two pajamas and two shoes for Maisy. Emily also bought a small "Cinderella" luggage to put the clothes inside.

"I think these will do for a while" Emily said holding a bunch of shopping bags as they walked to the food court.  
They had lunch and then headed to the game area. They had a big jungle gym and JJ thought that would be fun for Maisy so she asked if the girl wanted to go on it.

"Can I go on the train instead?" Maisy asked shyly.

"Sure" JJ smiled and they headed there.

Again Maisy made funny faces and waved at them and they laughed and had a great time.  
Once the ride was over they headed to the hotel.  
When the elevator door opened at their floor they found Rossi and Reid with their go bags.

"Are you guys leaving?" Emily asked.

"We have a case" Rossi said.

"Oh" JJ said and looked at Emily. Suddenly Hotch appeared.

"Hi. I was about to call you" Hotch said. "I'm giving both of you the week off" he said.

"Enjoy this one" Rossi smiled at Maisy and they left.

Jennifer, Emily and Maisy went to their room. Emily put the bags on the bed and Maisy went through everything she got.

"I loved all my clothes Emily" Maisy smiled and JJ and Emily smiled too.

They hung out in the hotel room for the rest of the afternoon and then around 6 they started getting ready to go out for dinner.

"Shower time Miss Maisy" Jennifer said with a warm smile trying to easy things a little.  
But it didn't work. Maisy looked down.

JJ looked at Emily and both knew that would be a challenge for a while.

"Change your clothes and then shower when we get back" Jennifer said a little serious.

"Okay" Maisy whispered.

"Come pick out your outfit" JJ said softly now. Maisy got off the bed and followed JJ to her new suitcase. She looked at all the things she had now and pulled out a purple shirt and jeans.

"Good choice" JJ smiled. Maisy changed and then went to get her shoes on. Emily had bought a black and white converse that closed with velcro so Maisy could easily do it herself. Maisy picked that one and put it on.

"I'm done" Maisy said as JJ got out of the bathroom all ready too. "You look pretty" Maisy said. JJ had a grey blouse and dark jeans on, just her regular work clothes but Maisy thought she looked amazing, especially with her hair on a long French braid.

"Thank you Maisy. You look pretty too" JJ smiled and walked to the girl. She scooped Maisy up and noticed the girl's hair was messy.  
"Can we fix this crazy hair of yours?" She asked. Without reluctance Maisy nodded yes. JJ smiled and placed the girl on the bed. She brushed the girl's hair.  
"Done" JJ smiled.

Maisy looked at her and said "can you do mine like yours?"

Jennifer looked surprised and said "of course I can". She quickly French braided Maisy's hair.

Emily walked out of the bathroom and smiled when she saw JJ braiding the girl's hair.

"Wow you look so cute Maisy" Emily smiled.

"Thank you" Maisy smiled proudly.  
JJ finished braiding the girl's hair and they headed out to dinner.

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Dinner went great. Maisy had chicken and rice and she ate everything while talking to both JJ and Emily. Both women smiled pretty much the entire time as Maisy went on and on about her horse, Buzz, the mall and her new clothes.  
Emily and Jennifer could see a regular happy child and they couldn't be happier.  
Once dinner was over, Emily got cupcakes for them and they headed back to the hotel. The girl walked to their room eating her cupcake with a huge smile on her face.  
But once she was done with it things changed.

"Shower and then bed?" JJ said getting Maisy's pajamas and Maisy looked down. She wasn't very happy about showering.

"I don't want to. I don't like it, Jennifer" Maisy said sounding sad.

"Sweetheart, you need to shower" JJ said and Maisy looked down.  
"You can do it all by yourself today. I won't even stay in the bathroom" JJ said and Maisy looked up. She knew that Maisy knew how to shower.

"Okay" Maisy said.

"But you can't lock the door" Emily said.

"Okay" Maisy agreed. She walked to the bathroom with Jennifer and JJ turned the shower on.

"Take your clothes off and put them here" JJ said tapping the sink. "And then get in the shower. If you need anything just ask, I'll be right outside the door" JJ said and walked out closing the door behind her.

Maisy stared at the shower and she was just too scared to get in. She could remember how her mom would always clean her after her dad beat her up and also all the things her parents did to her while she was showering or taking a bath. She was terrified.  
Maisy sat down on the floor, her back touching the wall, and just cried. She couldn't go in, she just couldn't. So she just sat there while the shower was on.

After a while JJ thought it was weird that the noise of the water seemed continuous. It didn't sound like someone was under it.  
"Maisy?" JJ said but got no response.  
She opened the door and Maisy was sitting down on the floor with her legs to her chest.

"I'm sowwy" Maisy sobbed. Her little kid talk broke JJ's heart.

"Oh Maisy" Jennifer said and scooped the girl up. Maisy tightened her little arms around JJ's neck.  
JJ turned the shower off and took the girl to the bed.  
"You can do this tomorrow morning, okay?" JJ said and Maisy nodded still crying. Maisy laid down and Jennifer handed her Buzz, the horse, and covered the girl up and laid next to her. She just hugged the child till Maisy fell asleep.  
Once Jennifer noticed Maisy was out she stood up and went to shower. When she got out Emily was sitting at the table doing some paperwork.

"That's going to be hard for a while but she'll get there" Emily said.

"I know." JJ said. "But it's just... it's something so simple for us but for her it's so scary"

"Yeah. But she'll be okay. We just need to go slow and not force her" Emily said.

"Yeah" JJ agreed walking to the bed. "I'm gonna try to get some sleep" she said laying back down next to Maisy.

"Okay. I'm almost done here" Emily said. Emily wanted to finish all her paperwork so she could just focus on Maisy once they got to DC.

It didn't take very long for Jennifer to fall asleep. Once Emily was done she laid on her bed and fell asleep easily too. They were both exhausted.


	13. Chapter 13: I Love You

The next morning while Maisy slept, Emily and JJ talked about going back to DC. They decided to go the next morning so they got their tickets and packed all their things.  
Emily ordered breakfast and JJ went to wake Maisy up.

"Maisy, time to wake up" Jennifer sang pushing hair away from Maisy's face. The girl moved a little and opened her eyes. "Hi" JJ smiled.

"Hi" Maisy whispered still sleepy.

"You gotta wake up and have breakfast" JJ said. Maisy sat up and her hair looked like a bird's nest. Jennifer and Emily laughed.

"What?" Maisy asked confused.

"Nice hair" Emily said. Maisy put her hand on her hair and laughed.

"Come on. The food is almost here" JJ said smiling.

"Bathroom" Maisy said and ran to the bathroom. She had to pee.

After a little while Maisy walked into the room and breakfast was there.

"Come eat" Emily smiled.

They ate and Maisy loved her waffles.  
Once she was done JJ said that she needed a shower and this time she had to take one.

"Okay" Maisy said looking down. "But can you stay with me?" She asked as tears filled her eyes. She really didn't want to be alone in there and she knew now that Jennifer would never ever hurt her like her parents did.

"Of course I can, pumpkin" Jennifer said and picked Maisy up. She carried the girl to the bathroom, turned the shower on and then helped Maisy get undress. She could see the girl looked scared.  
"Go in, honey. No one is going to hurt you. I swear" JJ said.

Maisy walked in and showered. She was tense but she didn't cry again. She even let Jennifer wash her hair.  
Once she was done JJ wrapped her in a towel and they went to the room. JJ helped her get dressed and then brushed her hair. This time she got two hair elastics she had on her bag and made little pig tails. She took Maisy to the mirror and the girl smiled. She looked so cute.

The rest of the day went okay.  
They watched tv in the morning and then got room service again. Maisy ate her cheeseburger with a huge smile on her face.  
Around 2pm Emily suggest going to the park for a walk since they didn't have anything to do. Maisy was excited to go; her parents never took her to one.  
They walked around the park and Maisy looked happy. She was scared to go on the playground so they got some ice cream and sat close to the playground to watch.

Everything was going great until Maisy saw a woman reprimanding a little girl.  
"I told you not to do this to him again" the lady said as she squeezed the child's arm.

Maisy felt so scared. She just dropped her ice cream and hugged the closest person to her, Emily.  
Emily didn't react to it at first, she was in shock. But then she threw her ice cream in a trash can behind her and wrapped her arms tightly around the girl.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked but Maisy just wouldn't answer. "Maisy! What's wrong?" She asked again.

Maisy looked at her and threw herself on JJ's arms and just cried. Emily looked around and saw the woman screaming at the little girl. Emily tapped JJ's arms and signed for the scene. JJ looked and realized why the girl was crying.

"Oh baby" JJ said feeling sorry for Maisy. "Let's go" she said standing up and carrying Maisy back to the car as she kept repeating soothing words in the girl's ear.

When they got in the car Maisy had stopped crying.  
"Are you alright?" Jennifer asked.  
Maisy shook her head no. JJ wrapped the girl in her arms.

"Let's go back to the hotel and order some ice cream there" Emily said trying to light up the mood.

They went to the hotel and Maisy seemed a bit better.

"You got scared watching that lady?" JJ asked as Emily sat down on the bed with them.

"Yes. She sounded just like mommy" Maisy said as tears filled her eyes again.

JJ pulled Maisy to her lap and said "your mother will never come near you again. I promise"

"Can we go to your house right now? I don't wanna stay here anymore" Maisy asked Emily.

"We're going tomorrow morning" Emily said.

"Okay" Maisy said. "And they won't go there, right?"

"Right" JJ said.

"We'll never let anybody hurt you, Maisy" Emily said. Maisy looked at her but stayed quiet.

They sat there for a moment and then Emily said with a smile "I think I need to replace my ice cream. Does anybody want one?"

"Oh I do!" Jennifer said quickly. Maisy stayed quiet.

"Do you want another one?" Emily asked raising her eyebrows and Maisy nodded yes.

"Alright" Emily said and touched Maisy's little nose making her giggle.

"I want strawberry" JJ said. "You?" She asked Maisy.

"Chocolate please" Maisy said with a little smile. She looked at Emily as the woman walked to the phone and then she looked at JJ who gave her a smile. Maisy hugged Jennifer and JJ kissed her forehead. She smiled.  
She felt so good with JJ, she felt so safe. She just loved how JJ always seemed to know how to help her.  
"I love you Jennifer" Maisy whispered.

JJ heard and her smile grew even bigger.  
She looked at Maisy's eyes and whispered "I love you too Maisy"

Maisy's eyes were sparkling.  
That was the first time in her life that someone, other than her little sister Julie, said "I love you" to her.


	14. Chapter 14: Flying

Emily didn't listen to Maisy or JJ saying I love you, so the moment was just theirs and JJ loved it.

They ate ice cream and just hung out till about 7 when they headed out to dinner. They ate at Outback and had a great time. Emily drove back to the hotel and when they got there Maisy was asleep.

"So I was thinking that maybe I could spend the first night in your house. Just to make sure she'll be okay" Jennifer said.

"Sure" Emily smiled. She was relieved JJ wanted to do that.

"I'm thinking maybe I can visit everyday this week too" JJ said hoping that would be okay.

"J, you can even live with me if you want to" Emily laughed and JJ smiled. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

Jennifer looked at the sleeping girl next to her and she was glad she could count on Emily to help with Maisy. She knew the first days would probably be hard due to everything the little one went through so she wanted to be there for her too.

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They got to the hotel and JJ carried Maisy inside. She placed the girl on the bed, took Maisy's shoes off, covered her up and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.  
"Goodnight" JJ whispered. Maisy didn't even move. She was out.  
JJ and Emily changed their clothes and went to bed. Both were excited about going to DC the next day but they were a little nervous about it too.

"Did you talk to Will again?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, but not about her" JJ said. "He wants us to talk when I get home. Talking on the phone won't help"

Emily could see JJ was a little upset. "Hey. It's going to be okay. Once he meets her there's no way he'll say no" Emily said.

"I hope so" JJ said tucking a lock of hair behind Maisy's ear. The girl moved closer to her and hid on her belly. JJ and Emily smiled.

"She told me she loves me" JJ said.

"She did?" Emily smiled and JJ nodded smiling too.  
"Of course she does" Emily said looking at Maisy griping JJ's shirt and JJ let out a little laugh.

"Goodnight" Emily said.

"Goodnight" JJ said. She hugged Maisy and let the girl's smell fill her nose. It was weird but she felt calm and relaxed hugging the girl. She truly hoped Will would end up agreeing on adopting Maisy because she couldn't picture her life without that sweet blonde girl anymore.

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The next morning they woke up around 8, ate breakfast, changed their clothes and headed out the door because their flight would leave at 10:30.

Maisy held JJ's hand tightly as they walked through the airport, she was a little scared because there were a lot of people there but soon she got used to it and was more excited than scared.  
They checked in and went through security. Maisy thought it was fun to see their bags go inside the machine and to take her shoes off and walk through the big machine. She was really excited about flying on a plane, she asked Emily and Jennifer every possible question about the ride and she ended up a little scared but excited at the same time. JJ bought some coloring books and crayons at the airport so the girl could be entertained while on the plane, she also got Maisy cute pink headphones to protect her ears.  
They waited for boarding and then walked to the plane. Maisy pulled JJ's shirt and Jennifer picked her up. They got on the plane and headed to their seats. Maisy sat right between them. JJ explained what the headphones were for and Maisy happily put them on.  
When the plane took off Maisy squeezed Emily's and JJ's hand and they smiled, both were happy that the girl trusted them.

"We are In the sky!" Maisy said with her eyes wide open.

"Yeah" JJ laughed.

Once the seatbelt sign was turned off, JJ pulled Maisy to her lap and took her headphones off.  
"It's so cool!" Maisy said as she looked out the window. JJ let Maisy stay there for a while and then sat her back on her seat.  
Maisy colored for some time and then she got really tired and asked JJ if she could sleep on the plane. "Of course you can, but its morning ." Jennifer said.  
Maisy's face went sad. Jennifer started wondering what did she said wrong and the girl suddenly said "I didn't sleep much at night, I was scared" Emily's and JJ's hearts sank.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Jennifer said.

"You have to sleep" Maisy said.

"But whenever you wake up at night you can wake me up too or Emily. We don't mind." Said JJ.

"Okay" said Maisy.

"You can sleep right now and We'll be right here. You'll be ok" Emily said and the girl nodded and rested her head on JJ's arm, she fell asleep in a minute. She was just so tired. She woke up a lot during the night and just laid in bed trying to go back to sleep. She didn't have any nightmares, she just woke up.

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The flight was fast and with no major problems. Emily and JJ agreed it would be best if Maisy was sleeping when they landed so they let the girl sleep some more.

Emily was excited to be home but at the same time she was a little scared. She hoped things would go smooth but she knew Maisy would be scared once JJ left.

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As soon as they landed in DC Jennifer texted Will. She told him she would spend the night at Emily's and would be home in the morning.

" _Okay. We'll be waiting. Your boy misses you"_ Will texted back.

JJ felt a bit upset but pushed it all away when she looked at Maisy sleeping on the seat next to her. At the moment the little girl needed her more than Henry and she knew her boy was okay with his dad and she would be away just one more day.

"Let's go?" Emily asked and JJ nodded.

Jennifer carried sleeping Maisy out of the plane and they headed to get their bags. They waited for a while and suddenly a guy let a bag fall on the floor and Maisy woke up scared.  
"Jennifer" the girl said sounding terrified as she hugged JJ tight.

"It's okay. It's alright. We are waiting for our bags so we can go home" JJ said rocking Maisy a little and she started calming down.

"Look here it comes" Emily said with a smile and Maisy looked. Emily got it and put it on the cart.

"That one is mine!" Maisy said pointing to her bag and now sounding excited.

"Do you want to help me?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded so JJ put her down. The girl pulled her bag and Emily helped a little.

"I did it!" Maisy said with a big smile and of course everyone around her was smiling too as they watched the scene.

"Well, so let's go to my house now?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded with a smile.

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The drive went smooth and Maisy's eyes sparkled as she looked out the window.  
When they arrived at Emily's building Maisy got a little nervous.

"Come on Mase" JJ said so the girl would get out of the taxi but Maisy just sat there. JJ could see she was nervous. "Do you need a ride up?" She asked and Maisy nodded yes so JJ picked her up and they went inside the building.

"Can I press?" Maisy whispered to JJ, pointing to the buttons inside the elevator.  
Jennifer let her down and said "press number 6"

"This one?" Maisy asked pointing to 6.

"Yes" JJ smiled and Maisy pressed it making it turn red. She smiled when it lit up.  
Jennifer grabbed her hand and the elevator went up.

They walked to Emily's apartment door and Maisy saw all the other doors. "Why you have so many doors?" She asked.

"Oh those are other apartments. I have a lot of neighbors." Emily explained.

"Oh" Maisy said. It was the first time she was in an apartment building.

Emily unlocked her door and they walked in. Maisy's eyes looked around and she seemed really curious.  
"Come on, I'll show you around" Emily said. Maisy took her hand and Emily gave her a little tour.

"This is the kitchen and feel free to open the fridge or this cabinet to grab a snack if you want" Emily said and Maisy smiled. She was never allowed to do that at her parents house.  
"This is my office and this is the living room" Emily said walking around with the girl.

"Window" Maisy said excited and walked to the big window in Emily's living room. Emily and JJ followed her surprise she was excited about the window.

"What's that sticky thing?" Maisy asked.

"That's the Washington monument" JJ said.

"And what is it?" Maisy asked still confused.

"It's a sticky thing" JJ said and Maisy and Emily laughed.

"Let's go see upstairs" Emily said and grabbed Maisy's hand.  
They went upstairs and Emily showed her room to Maisy.  
"You can come in here whenever you want, okay?" Emily said and Maisy nodded.  
Suddenly Sergio walked out of the closet.

"Kitty!" Maisy said excited.

Emily walked to Sergio and picked him up then she walked back and kneed down in front of Maisy. "You can pet him" she said and the girl shyly did.

"He's so fluffy" Maisy said smiling.

Sergio meowed and Maisy giggled.

"Let's go see your room now?" Emily asked putting Sergio back on the floor.

"I have a room in your house?" Maisy asked surprised.

"Of course you do" Emily smiled and they walked to a door at the end of the hallway. She opened the door to a light blue room with a queen size bed, a small desk, a few shelves and a couch. There was a blanket on the couch and books on the shelves.  
It was her guest bedroom.

"We can go buy new bedding if you want. Maybe something pink huh?" Emily said feeling a little bad. The room didn't look like a child's bedroom and she was scared she disappointed the girl.  
But she was wrong.

"I love it!" Maisy said with a big smile. She couldn't believe she was going to stay there. The walls were such a pretty blue color, the bed was so big and looked so comfy. She had a couch and desk where she could draw and shelves with books, she loved books. She was so happy.  
"Thank you so much! it's gooder then my old room" Maisy said and JJ and Emily laughed.

"I'm glad you love it" Emily said. Maisy hugged her legs.

"Go try your bed. See if it's comfy" JJ said and Maisy walked further. She climbed on the bed and smiled.

"It's comfy" Maisy said with a smile. JJ smiled at Emily and mouthed a thank you.  
She was just so happy to see Maisy happy.

"Why don't you two hang out here and unpack her clothes while I make some spaghetti" Emily said and JJ nodded. Emily went to the kitchen and JJ sat on the bed with Maisy.

"So... do you really like it?" JJ asked.

"Yes" Maisy said with a little smile but it suddenly faded. She climbed on JJ's lap and JJ hugged her. "You'll come see me, right?" Maisy asked.

"I promise I will" Jennifer said. She looked in Maisy's eyes and said "I love you". This time Maisy didn't say it back, she just hugged Jennifer and started crying.

"I'm going to stay here tonight" JJ said.

"You are?"

"Yes. And then tomorrow I need to go home" JJ said.

"Can I go with you?" Maisy asked.

"You need to stay with Emily for a while, remember?" JJ said feeling bad and Maisy looked down.

"I'll miss you" Maisy whispered.

"I know. But you can call me anytime okay? And I'll come see you. I promise" JJ said tucking Maisy's hair.

"I love you too" Maisy said. JJ kissed the girl's forehead and wiped the tears on the girl's cheeks.  
"Let's unpack?" JJ said and Maisy nodded.  
They did that and JJ placed Buzz, the horse on the bed.

"Buzz loves his new bed so much" Maisy said with a little smile.

"Do you think Buzz would like to watch a movie while he waits for lunch?" JJ asked.

"I think so" Maisy said.

"Go get him" JJ smiled and Maisy got the horse. They walked downstairs to the living room.

"This smells so good" Jennifer said.

"I'm not really good in the kitchen if I'm being honest but my spaghetti doesn't suck. I learned from the best" Emily said.

"Rossi" Jennifer smiled and Emily laughed.

"Do you have any kid's movies?" JJ asked.

"Uhmnn I guess so." Emily said. "Take a look at that cabinet" Emily said pointing to it below the tv.  
JJ sat in front of it with Maisy and looked through Emily's DVD collection.

"The grinch" JJ said pulling out the DVD. "Have you seen this one?" She asked Maisy who nodded no. So JJ put that on the DVD and sat on the couch. Maisy sat next to her and they snuggled.

About 15 minutes into the movie, Emily finished lunch and called them to eat.

"Is it good?" Emily asked Maisy.

"Yummy" the girl said with a smile.  
Jennifer a Emily laughed as they saw the kid had pasta sauce around her mouth.  
They ate lunch and then sat together to watch the movie.

"Christmas movies in September" Emily laughed.

"When is Christmas?" Maisy asked.

"In December" Jennifer said.

"Is that far?" Maisy asked.

"Not really" Emily said.

"Why?" JJ asked. "You like Christmas?"

"I never had Christmas" Maisy said. "Do you have it?" She asked Emily, assuming she would most likely be living with Emily during Christmas.

"Yes. I love Christmas" Emily said.

Maisy's smile lit up the house.  
"Can I have it too? With the big tree and the lights?" The little girl asked.

"Of course you can" Emily smiled and Maisy's smile grew even bigger.

JJ and Emily smiled at each other as the little girl turned her attention back to the movie.

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The afternoon was okay at Emily's place. They just hung out and watched tv. Around 6, Emily suggest going out for dinner and they went to get ready. JJ helped Maisy shower. She wasn't happy at all but she didn't cry this time. She got dressed and let JJ do her hair again. And they headed out the door.  
Dinner went great and they got back around 9. Maisy looked tired so JJ and Emily went to the girl's bedroom. They tucked Maisy in and left, when JJ was about to walk out Maisy asked her to stay. She looked at the girl and Maisy's eyes were filled with tears. JJ laid with the child and soothed her hair till she fell asleep. Then JJ went to the living room where Emily was.

"She's asleep" Jennifer said.

"A good first day. I'd say" Emily said.

"Yeah. She loves her room" JJ smiled.

"I'm thinking about going to get some kid's stuff tomorrow. Like new bedding for her and a few books and toys to keep her entertained" Emily said.

"That's a good idea" JJ said. "I won't be able to go with you though"

"Why?" Emily asked confused. She thought JJ would want to do that.

"I'm going home in the morning and Will said Henry misses me a lot so I'm thinking about just staying home with him tomorrow and then the day after I can stop by" JJ said.

"Okay" Emily said understanding.

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright with her?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll find something fun for us to do" Emily said.

"Anything just call me" Said JJ.

"Just enjoy your boy and talk to Will." Emily smiled.

"I will" JJ said.


	15. Chapter 15: First Goodbye

The next morning JJ woke up and Maisy was snuggling her horse and hiding her face on JJ's belly. She suddenly felt a lump on her throat. Just the thought of leaving Maisy for a day was hurting. She just wanted to grab the girl and go home. But she knew she had to talk to Will first.

So that morning after breakfast JJ gave Maisy her medicine and then took her to the couch and sat with her. JJ told the girl she had to go home for a while. Maisy's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"I'll come see you very soon. I promise" Jennifer said as her eyes filled with tears too. She didn't want Maisy to see so she hugged the girl and pulled the child to her lap. "I promise I'll come and Emily will be with you the whole time." JJ said pushing her tears away. She didn't want to scare the girl even more.

"I was thinking that we could drop JJ off at her house and then go get a few things for your room" Emily said.

"Yeah. That sounds fun" Jennifer said trying to sound excited.

"We can maybe get a few friends for Buzz" Emily said with warm smile.

"Do you want to do that?" Asked JJ.

"Can you go too?" Maisy asked.

"Remember how I explained to you that I have a son?" JJ said and Maisy nodded. "I stayed away for a while because of work and he misses me very much. So I need to go see him" she explained.

"But I'll miss you" Maisy whispered.

"I know. But I'll be back soon. I promise" JJ said wiping tears from the child's cheeks.

They were silent for a while and then JJ said "We should head out"

Emily grabbed Maisy's horse, Buzz, and JJ carried the girl to the car while Emily carried JJ's bag.  
They got inside Emily's car and JJ said "I have a car seat at home for her and I can get it for you when we get there"

"Okay" Emily said and started the car.

Maisy hugged JJ the entire ride. When Emily parked the car in front of JJ's house Maisy didn't want to let go of her.

"Maisy I know you're scared but I need to go now. I swear to you I'll see you very very soon" JJ said. Maisy looked in JJ's eyes and she knew she had to let go. So she did and just sat on the backseat hugging Buzz as tears ran down her face.

"I'm gonna get the car seat. I'll be right back" JJ said and went to her house.

Emily sat next to Maisy and the girl hugged her.  
"It's going to be okay" Emily said trying to help but with no success, Maisy just kept crying.

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JJ opened the door to find Will waiting for her.  
"Hi" she said with a small smile. She looked exhausted and he could see she had tears in her eyes.

"Mommy!" Henry said running in and hugging her. The 7 year old boy was excited to see his mom.

"Hi baby" Jennifer said lifting him up. She gave him a big hug and then put him down.

"I had a fall thing at school and we made a bunch of things! Wanna see?" He said excited.

"Sure. Go get it while I talk to daddy" JJ said and the boy ran to his bedroom.

"Are you Okay?" Will asked. JJ didn't look good.

"Yeah" she lied. "Can you go get Henry's old car seat in the basement?" She asked.

"Why?" Will asked.

"Emily is outside and she needs a car seat for Maisy." JJ explained.

Will nodded and went to get it.

"Who's Maisy?" Henry asked walking in with his things.

"A little girl I know" JJ said unsure of how to explain to him.

"Can I meet her?" Henry asked.

"Not today buddy" JJ said. She knew they had to do it slow. And she had to talk to Will first.  
Henry showed all the things he did at school to celebrate Fall and then Will walked back in with the dark grey and black cart seat.

"Thanks" JJ said and got it from him.  
She took it to outside and found Emily hugging Maisy who was still crying.

"Here" JJ said. "Do you know how to put it on?" JJ asked.

"No" Emily let out a little laugh.

"I got it" JJ said with a small smile.  
Emily walked out of the car holding Maisy in her arms.  
JJ placed the car seat in and fixed everything up.

"Done" she said and Emily went to put Maisy inside. She went to buckle Maisy in it and the girl cried harder.

"It's okay Maisy" Emily said.

"No I don't wanna" Maisy cried and tried to get out.

"Sweetheart you need to stay in it" JJ said and Maisy looked at her and shook her head.

"Look Buzz wants to ride in the the special seat" Emily said getting the horse and squishing it next to Maisy. The girl looked at her and Emily went on "he wants to sit here cause it protects him and he can see outside really well"

Maisy calmed a bit down.

"Can you sit with him so he won't be alone?" Emily asked.  
Maisy thought for a bit and then nodded. Emily and JJ smiled. Emily buckled Maisy and Buzz and shut the door.

"That was smart" JJ said with a smile and Emily smiled relieved she got control over the situation.  
"I'll call tonight to check on her" JJ said.

"Okay. Try not to worry about it" Emily said knowing JJ probably would.

"Anything just call." Said Jennifer.

"Alright" Emily smiled and hugged JJ. "She'll be okay" Emily said.

JJ let go of the hug and said "thank you for this"

"It's no problem" Emily said and got in the car. "Bye" she said closing the door.

"Bye" JJ said and Emily drove away.

Jennifer just stood there with her heart broken as she watched Emily drive away with Maisy still crying in the back seat.


	16. Chapter 16: The Talk

Jennifer walked back inside her house and she went straight to the bathroom. She couldn't hold it anymore so she just cried.  
After sometime Will knocked on the door.  
"Is everything okay love?" He asked.

"Yes. I'll be right out" JJ said and washed her face.  
She walked out to find him standing there. He hugged her.  
"No right now Will" she said and walked to her bedroom. She couldn't deny she was upset with him.  
She unpacked and then went to Henry's room. She found him drawing and smiled at the scene.

"Hi mommy" the boy said once he noticed she was there.

"Hi. What are you drawing?" She asked.

"Our house" Henry smiled and held his paper up so she could see it.

"That looks good" JJ said.

"I'm not done yet" he smiled.  
They talked for a while and JJ just felt like telling him about Maisy and asking what he thought about having a sister. But she knew the first step would be Will. So she walked to the living room where Will was watching tv.

"Is okay for me to hug you now?" He asked a bit upset.

"I'm sorry. I just.." she said and sat down next to him. "We need to talk"

"We do" he said. He didn't look mad he just looked concerned.

"Look, I know this will sound a little crazy but I love her Will. I truly do. And when Emily drove away I just wanted to run after them and get her." She said.

"You love her?" Will asked.

"Yes." Jennifer said. "I know that I just met her a few days ago but she feels like family. I just feel like I've known her for a long time. I don't know how to explain"

"So you want to Foster her or..?"

"I want to adopt her" JJ said.

"And what about Henry? We never really talked to him about siblings" Will said.

"We can talk to him right now" JJ said.

"JJ, two kids is a lot more work" Will said.

"I know" Jennifer said a little angry.

"I honestly don't think this is a good idea for our family right now" Will said.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked upset.

"Look, we already have a lot to deal with right now and adding another child is not a good idea. Especially a four year-old. Who knows what she went through? She's probably scared for life. She likes you but who knows how she'll be like in here? We don't know and at the moment we can't deal with that. You'll be traveling and I can't deal with that" Will said.

JJ just ran to their bedroom. She locked the door and just sobbed.

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Emily dropped JJ off and headed to Bed Bath and Beyond. She parked her car and looked in the backseat to find Maisy asleep. She knew it would probably be hard in the beginning but she hated the fact that child cried herself to sleep.  
Emily got out and opened the door on Maisy's side and woke the girl up.  
"Maisy. We're here. Let's go" she said softly and Maisy woke up and opened her arms asking to be picked up. Emily unbuckled the child and picked her up.

"Buzz" Maisy said sounding sleepy. Emily got the horse and handed it to Maisy who hugged it tight. Emily grabbed her bag, closed the door and locked the car.  
She carried Maisy inside the store.  
"This one is pretty, look" Emily said showing Maisy a comforter and Maisy looked at it. "Do you like this one?"

Maisy shrugged.

Emily put her down and said "go ahead, look around and tell me which one you like"  
Maisy walked looking at all the options and smiled when she saw one with snow flakes on it.

"Do you like that one?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded shyly. Emily got a set and asked if Maisy was sure that was the one.

"Yes I'm sure" Maisy said.

"I think it will look good with the blue in the room and it looks like _Frozen_ " Emily said.

"Yeah" said Maisy.

They walked around the store getting a few more items.  
Emily ended up buying the snow flake comforter, a _Frozen_ throw, a blue sheet and pillow set, a few bathroom items like tooth brush holder and other little things like that.  
They went to the car and headed to the mall.  
The first store they went to was a book store. Emily let Maisy pick out a few books and the girl seemed happy about it but she still looked a bit down. Emily knew it was because of JJ so she tried her best to keep the child's mind occupied. She got the books and then they went to a toy store. Maisy picked out a baby doll and some games. Then they grabbed some food at the food court. Maisy asked for cheeseburgers so Emily got one too. They ate and then walked around some more. Emily took the girl to the Disney store and Maisy was blown away with all the Princesses things they had.  
Emily bought an Anna doll, a frozen plate, fork and spoon set, a water bottle and an Olaf pillow pet.

"Thank you for all these things Emily" Maisy said shyly. Every time Emily had asked if she liked something she was embarrassed to say yes because she didn't really want Emily to spend her money with her but Emily insisted on it.

"You're welcome honey. I loved shopping with you" Emily smiled and Maisy took her hand and they went to the car.  
Emily put all the bags in the car while Maisy got on her car seat. Emily closed the trunk and walked to the girl's door, suddenly she saw a woman walking by pushing a child on a stroller. Maisy was small and liked being carried when she was scared so Emily thought a stroller would be a good idea for days like that. She could see Maisy got really tired after walking around so much.  
She got Maisy's attention and said "look"  
Maisy looked at the lady with the stroller.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Would you like one of those? So I can just push you and you won't have to walk around for a long time" Emily said and Maisy looked down.

She was not supposed to use a stroller. Ever.  
That's what her parents always told her.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked a little confused that Maisy looked sad about it.

"I don't want one" the girl lied.

"It's okay. You don't have to be sad because of that" Emily said.

"Mommy said I'm too big for it" Maisy said sounding sad.

Emily's heart broke. "Oh Maisy you're not big. You're very little and your little legs get tired quickly and that's why they make those. So little kids like you can sit down and rest for a while"

"Are you sure I'm little enough?" Maisy asked.

"Yeah I'm sure" Emily said with a little smile.  
Maisy took some time to think.  
"Do you want one? You don't have to use it all the time" Emily said and this time Maisy nodded.  
"Alright we can get one then" Emily smiled and touch the tip of the girl's nose. Maisy smiled.  
Emily got in the car and drove to ToysRUs. She had seen strollers at the one she went in Denver so she knew that she'd find them in DC too.  
And she was right.  
She walked in with Maisy holding her hand tight. They looked at some strollers and ended up with a really simple one that Maisy tried and said it was comfy. Then Emily got some markers and crayons for the girl as she remembered how Maisy had drawn on the walls of her old bedroom. She bought some DVDs and then paid and went to the car.  
As she walked there she saw there was a Walmart right across the street so they got in the car and went there too. They went to every isle and Emily let Maisy pick things she liked to eat or wanted to try. The girl was in disbelief. She had never been to a Walmart before and her parents never ever asked what she wanted to eat.  
Emily smiled watching Maisy get excited over simple things like buying Cheerios and juice boxes.  
They got a lot of things, paid and went back to the apartment.  
When they got there, one of Emily's neighbors had just parked in front of her and offered to help her carry everything up. The couple and their two teenage daughters helped Emily with her groceries and shopping bags.

"So who's the tiny one?" The woman asked as they entered the elevator.

"This is my friend Maisy" Emily smiled. "Say hi" she told the girl and Maisy shyly greeted.

"You are very cute miss Maisy" the lady said.

"Thank you" Maisy said with a little shy smile.

Emily and her neighbors dropped everything off in the living room.  
"Thank you so much guys" Emily said as they walked outside. "Thank you Carrie" Emily said.

"You're welcome. If you need anything you know where to find me" Carrie said and went to her apartment that was on the floor below Emily's.

"So let's unpack all these things and put the groceries away?" Emily said and Maisy nodded.  
Emily started putting the groceries away and guided Maisy. The girl happily helped. Once done, They sat on the floor and started going through the other things. Emily noticed Maisy wanted to play with her dolls so she opened them and told the girl to go play on the couch while she finished getting the rest ready.  
Maisy did as told and sat with her Anna and her baby doll, of course Buzz the horse was right there next to her too.


	17. Chapter 17: A Good Home

Emily put the bed items to wash and fixed the girl's bathroom up. When she finished she put on a movie for Maisy to watch. The girl was sitting on the couch with her toys and Sergio next to her.

"Do you want a snack?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded. Emily got fruit snacks and gave them to the girl who thanked her with a small smile.

"You're welcome honey" Emily smiled. "I'm going to fix your room up now okay? Anything just go get me" Emily said and went to put the bed items to dry and soon enough she was upstairs getting Maisy's bedroom ready. She put the blue sheet, pillow cases and the snow flake comforter on the bed. Then threw the _Frozen_ throw on it. The throw was made for a single bed so it looked great on Maisy's queen size bed because it made it possible to see the snow flakes of the comforter. She put the Olaf pillow pet in there too.  
Emily took her books off the shelves on the wall and replaced them with the ones she bought for Maisy. She put the movies in there too. Then she placed the crayons and markers on the desk in the corner of the room with a bunch of blank papers she got in her office.  
Once she was all done she went to get Maisy.

"Your room is ready" Emily said and Maisy gave her a little smile. Maisy grabbed Buzz, took Emily's hand and they walked upstairs.

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"Wow" Maisy said in disbelief. The room looked amazing.

"Do you like it?" Emily asked hopeful.

"Yeah!" Maisy said with a big smile and wrapped her arms around Emily's legs.  
Emily scooped her up.

"I put your books and your movies in here, and right there on your desk you can draw on the papers I got you, okay?"

"Okay" Maisy smiled.

"Just on the papers alright? You can't draw on the walls, Okay? We draw on papers not walls" Emily explained.

"Okay." Maisy said.

"Let's see your bathroom" Emily said and carried Maisy there. She showed everything and Maisy smiled the whole time.

"Buzz loved everything Emi. And me too" Maisy said and Emily smiled.  
She carried the girl back to her room and put Maisy down. Maisy walked to the bed and grabbed her throw.

"so soft" she said and Emily laughed.

"Thank you so much. I love it all" Maisy said smiling but suddenly her smiled faded and she let go of the throw and looked down.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked worried but Maisy didn't say anything. Emily walked to her and kneed down. "What's wrong princess?" She asked tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

"I want Jennifer. I don't wanna stay here forever" Maisy said and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh honey don't worry. She'll talk to her husband. I don't think you'll need to stay here for long" Emily said.

"But if I won't stay then why did you make me a room here?" Maisy asked.

"Because you deserve a nice, cozy and fun place to stay and I can give you that" Emily said. "Once you go somewhere else you can take everything with you"

"I can?" Maisy asked.

"Yeah. Even your snow flake comforter okay? Everything we bought today is yours."

"But you bought them" Maisy said.

"But I gave them to you so they are all yours now" Emily said with smile.

"But daddy said that if you buy something that makes it yours"

"Your father was wrong about a lot of things Maisy. You don't have to believe and do what he told you anymore. You'll listen to me and Jennifer now, okay? And I say it's all yours. No one else's" Emily said and gave the girl a warm smile.

"Even the toys? You won't give them to little kids?" Maisy asked in disbelief.

"No. they are yours. I'd would never give away your toys" Emily said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Maisy nodded.

"Come here" Emily said and pulled Maisy to her and hugged her.  
"Did you like your new movie?" Emily asked.

"The movie is mine too?" Maisy asked.

Her shocked face made Emily laugh. "Yes Maisy" she said and Maisy smiled.

"But I can watch with you right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Maisy said. "I don't mind sharing"

"So let's go watch one together?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded so she picked the girl up.  
"Which one?" Emily asked and Maisy pulled " _Tangled_ " off the shelf.

"This is the one?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded so Emily walked out.

"Buzz!" Maisy said as Emily carried her out. Emily smiled and walked back to bed and got Buzz.  
"He wants to watch it too" Maisy said.

"Does Buzz want popcorn?" Emily asked.

Maisy took Buzz to her ear and pretended she was listening to him talk.  
"He said yes please" Maisy said.

"Alright" Emily laughed and headed to the living room.  
Emily made popcorn while Maisy played with her toys and then they sat together to watch the movie.  
They had a nice afternoon.  
Maisy seemed relaxed and was having fun playing. They had leftover spaghetti for dinner and then Emily gave Maisy some chocolate ice cream for desert. The kid looked really happy...  
But that didn't last forever.  
Everything was going great till around 7:30.  
JJ had texted Emily earlier when they were watching the movie and suggested making the girl's bedtime 8:30 since that was Henry's at the moment. She told Emily about her fight with Will but said she wouldn't give up.

So at 7:30 Emily decided that Maisy should get ready for bed.  
"Maisy I think we should get ready for bed." Emily said.

"I no tired" Maisy lied. She clearly looked tired as she mumbled that.

"I can see" Emily laughed. "Come on" she said and picked Maisy up.

"Buzz" Maisy said.

"He's here" Emily said handing the horse to the girl. "Let's take all your toys up" she said grabbing the Anna and the baby doll.

"Can this baby take a shower before bed?" Emily asked showing Maisy her baby doll which Emily thought was the only one that would survive getting wet.

"No. she doesn't like that" Maisy said.

Emily had already noticed how Maisy was projecting what she was feeling on her toys. So she tried using that.  
"But if you give her a bath than she'd be okay, wouldn't she?"

"She's scared" Maisy said and hid her face on Emily's neck. Emily placed Maisy on the bed.

"But Maisy, the baby needs to shower or take a bath everyday to stay clean. You don't want her to get dirty, do you?" Emily asked and Maisy shook her head no.  
"So how about she takes a quick quick bath and then she can lay down on the bed and watch another movie"

Maisy thought for a while and said "she wants Jennifer to give bath"

Emily knew that was probably coming.  
"Well, how about if I give her a bath? Just while Jennifer is not here"  
Maisy thought again and shook her head no.

"Maisy the baby needs to shower" Emily said kind of begging.

"No" Maisy said and started crying. Emily went to hug her and she pulled away thinking Emily would carry her to the bathroom. "No bath no" Maisy cried.

"Okay okay. No bath today." Emily said picking the girl up. "You can take one tomorrow. It's okay." She said and Maisy started calming down. "Let's get your pjs on" Emily said and put Maisy down. She helped the girl change.  
"Go brush your teeth now honey" she said and Maisy went. She quickly did that as Emily got her bed ready.  
She walked back in the room and Emily picked her up and put her on the bed.

"Do you want a bedtime story?" Emily asked getting a book from the shelf and Maisy looked shocked again.  
"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Mom read to Julie but she never read me any books" Maisy said.

"Well I can read you two today. How about that?" Emily said getting another book and sitting on the bed next to the girl.  
Maisy smiled shyly. Suddenly she looked down and said "I miss Julie"

Emily's heart broke. "I know you do" Emily said throwing one arm around Maisy.

"Is Kim reading books? Julie likes books" Maisy said.

"Yeah I think so" Emily said with a sad smile. Maisy looked like she was thinking very hard about that and holding her tears in.

"When can I see Julie?" She asked Emily.

"I don't know honey" Emily said unsure of what to say.

"I miss her" Maisy said as a tear escaped her eye. Emily wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Julie is okay and you'll see her soon. Alright? Don't worry" Emily said wiping Maisy's checks. "Let's read our story" she said and opened the book.

Emily read two books and tucked Maisy in.  
"Sleep tight Maisy" Emily said and kissed Maisy's forehead. The child hugged Buzz tightly and closed her eyes.

Emily went to her bedroom and got her things so she could shower. She felt like she failed on the shower subject but the rest she felt like she did pretty good. The girl seemed happy most of the day and now was tucked in and okay.  
Emily showered and before going to bed she went to check on Maisy.  
She opened the door to find the child asleep with her thumb in her mouth and still hugging Buzz.  
Emily smiled and went to bed.


	18. Chapter 18: The Promise Of Tomorrow

Emily was almost asleep when she heard a high pitched scream. She jumped out of bed and ran to Maisy's bedroom. She walked in to find the child tossing around on the bed.

"Daddy no!" the girl cried out again. "Pease Mama! NOOOOO! DADDY!"

"Maisy, wake up. Mase, Wake up sweetie." Emily softly held down the girls flailing arms. "Open your eyes Maisy." She encouraged gently.  
Maisy's eyes popped open wide and tear filled. She looked around confused then realized where she was. "Emi?" she whispered scared and burst to tears. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and hugged her tight while the small child hugged her back and kept a tight grip on her horse, Buzz.  
"Yes I'm right here. It was just a dream. He is not here. He is gone. He died. He can't hurt you. I promise he won't hurt you." She said and Maisy just kept crying.  
"Let's lay back down honey" she said but Maisy refused to do so.  
Emily picked the girl up and carried her downstairs.

"Cars go by" Maisy said as soon as she saw the big window.

"What did you say honey?" Emily asked.

"Watch cars go by." Maisy said.

Emily walked to the window and Maisy just stared outside still crying. The girl didn't understand why but watching the cars and the buildings outside always helped her calm down. She used to look out the window of her old bedroom at her parents house and just watch the moon and the cars outside.

Emily held the girl in her arms and looked outside too. "This is pretty, right?" She said.

"Yeah" Maisy said sounding sleepy.

"Are you sleepy Maisy?"

"No" the girl lied.

"Why don't we sit here and you try to get some sleep while we watch the cars?" Emily suggested.

"No sleep" Maisy cried. She was scared of seeing his face again.

"Okay. We can just sit here and look outside then" Emily said and Maisy thought about it. "Do you want to sit?" Emily asked and the girl nodded.  
Emily put Maisy down on the floor and grabbed a chair. She put it close to the window and sat down. She pulled Maisy to her lap and hugged the girl tight.  
Maisy rested her head on Emily's chest and stared out the window. They sat there for a long time. Maisy ended up falling asleep about an hour later, Prentiss stayed there for an extra 20 minutes to make sure the kid was asleep. But as soon as she stood up the girl woke up. Maisy hugged her tight and said no.

"It's okay. We're going upstairs" Emily said.

"No" Maisy cried a little.

"Do you want to sleep on my bed?" Emily asked.

"Yes please" Maisy said.

"Okay. Let's go" Emily said and headed up. She placed Maisy down on the bed and laid down. She covered both of them up.  
Maisy looked at her and the girl's eyes were filled with tears again. "Do you want to cuddle?" Emily asked knowing Maisy always cuddled with JJ.  
The little girl nodded shyly. Emily pulled Maisy to her and the girl hid on her belly.  
"Goodnight Maisy" Emily said.

"Night" Maisy said with her thumb in her mouth and hugging Buzz.

As Emily rubbed her back, Maisy relaxed and was soon back asleep.  
Emily felt good to have the girl there with her but at the same time she felt sad thinking about JJ at home. She loved Maisy too but she knew how Jennifer should be the one cuddling the girl. She just hoped Will would end up agreeing with the adoption.

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The next morning, Jennifer Jareau woke up and went to have breakfast. She made waffles for her and Henry. When William walked in the kitchen she didn't even look at him.

"Finish your waffle and go brush your teeth" she told Henry and walked out.

As much as he believed that he was doing the right thing, Will felt bad as he watched her walk away with tears in her eyes.

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JJ took Henry to school and headed to Emily's apartment. She just couldn't wait to see Maisy again.  
"Hi. Come on in" Emily said when she opened the door and JJ walked in.

"How is she?" JJ asked.

"Asleep"

"Did she sleep okay?" Jennifer asked.

"She had a nightmare and then slept on my bed" Emily said and JJ looked worried. "She's Okay." She added.

They walked to the kitchen.  
"Coffee?" Emily said.

"Yes please" JJ said sounding like she really needed it.

"So how did it go? Did you really talk to him?" Emily asked pouring the coffee.  
JJ had texted her to tell that they had a fight but didn't explain much.

"Yes" JJ said.

"And?" Emily asked staring at JJ. Suddenly Jennifer's eyes filled with tears. "Oh J" Emily said feeling bad. She put the coffee down and hugged her friend.

"He said he doesn't think this is the right time and we don't know how she'll be like at home or if she'll even like him." JJ said as tears fell.

"But did he say no?"

"He said he can't deal with this right now, Em" JJ said.

"Just give him some time. You don't need to rush. She's here, she's just upstairs, she's okay. She's not going anywhere. So don't rush him just go slow and talk to him and we'll see" Emily said feeling bad that JJ was upset but understanding Will's side too.

Jennifer nodded and wiped her face.  
Emily grabbed the mug and handed to JJ. "Here" she said. JJ grabbed it and took a sip. "Why don't we sit in the living room?" Emily suggested and they went.

JJ saw a big box in the corner. "Did you but a stroller?" She asked surprised.

"Oh. I did" Emily said not sure if JJ would mind that. "It's just that we walked a ton yesterday and she got really tired so I thought she could maybe use the stroller if we were out like that again. Is that okay?" Emily asked unsure.

"Of course. I remember Henry being four. It was a pain to leave the house without his stroller." JJ said with a small smile. "But I still have his. You could have just asked for it" she said.

"I didn't even think about that. It was such a " _in the moment_ " type of thing" Emily said and JJ smiled. Emily felt good that JJ seemed to be okay with it.

"So did you get the new bedding?"JJ asked.

"Yeah" Emily laughed. "I think I spoiled her a little but that's what aunts are for, right?" Emily said.

Jennifer smiled at the fact that Emily considered Maisy her niece already. "You are definitely her godmother" JJ said.

"I better be" Emily joked.

JJ looked at the stroller box again and found a pile of trash behind it. There were things like empty doll boxes and DVD wrappers.  
"What did you do?" JJ said with her eyes wide open.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs" Emily said and they went.

They walked past Emily's bedroom and JJ smiled. Maisy was fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth and Buzz cuddled to her chest.  
"She slept like that all night" Emily said.

They went to Maisy's bedroom and Jennifer smiled big at everything. "It looks amazing"

"This is all her. I didn't choose anything" Emily said.

"She sure likes _Frozen_ " JJ laughed.

Emily suddenly remembered the girl's reaction to the room.  
"She cried a little bit yesterday when she saw." Emily said.

"Why?" JJ asked confused.

"She didn't really understand why she had a pretty room with all these things if she was just staying for a while"

"And what did you tell her?" Jennifer asked.

"I said she can take it all with her, wherever she goes" Emily said and JJ smiled.

"Thank you so much Em" JJ said as tears filled her eyes.  
Emily hugged her and said "He'll say yes. I know he will"

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Emily and JJ sat on the couch in the living room again and talked a bit more about how Maisy was doing. Emily mentioned the shower situation and JJ suggested that she should just go in with the girl like JJ had done in the hotel.  
After sometime JJ asked if Emily needed help assembling the stroller and of course the woman said yes. She had never done anything like that in her entire life. So JJ helped her and taught her how to close it and do all the things it could do.

"Thanks. This was definitely more complicated than what I thought it would be" Emily said and JJ laughed.

"We should wake her up. It's already 9:30" Emily said and JJ smiled.  
Jennifer was excited to hang out and hug Maisy again.

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"Maisy" Emily sang. "There's someone here to see you" she said running her hand on the child's back.  
Maisy moved a little and then stretched making Emily and Jennifer laugh.  
The girl's eyes shot open when she heard JJ's laugh. She looked at Jennifer and smiled big.

"Hi" JJ said walking to the bed. Maisy sat up and JJ hugged her. "What a pretty room you got" JJ said and let go of the hug.

"Emily gave me" Maisy said sounding a bit sleepy. "Buzz loved it too" Maisy said and Emily and JJ smiled.

"Emily is very nice huh?" JJ smiled. Maisy looked at Emily and smiled shyly.

Maisy looked at JJ and noticed the woman had tears in her eyes.  
"He said no" Maisy said looking down.

Jennifer felt a lump in her throat.  
"I haven't talked to him yet" Jennifer lied. "But I will soon, okay?" She said and Maisy nodded. "And you'll have fun here with Em"  
Maisy nodded again.

There was a bit of silence and then JJ asked "Are you hungry?"

Maisy shook her head no.

"That's not what your tummy told me. It told me: I'm hungry, Maisy! Feed me!" JJ joked speaking on Maisy's stomach, causing the child to laugh.  
Emily laughed too. She was amazed at how great JJ was with the girl.

"Come on, let's get some food into that tummy of yours." JJ said and picked Maisy up, she carried the girl downstairs to the kitchen. When they got there Maisy pointed to the Cheerios box.  
"Oh, you want cereal?" JJ asked with a smile.

Maisy nodded shyly and said " _cheewios_."

"She's in love with _CheeWios_ " Emily said and JJ and her laughed at how Maisy pronounced it.

"Is this hers?" JJ asked pointing to the small pink bowl next to the sink. Emily nodded so Jennifer got the bowl and poured the cereal inside while Emily got the milk on the fridge. JJ poured milk in it and handed it to Maisy.

"Spoon" Maisy said. Emily smiled and grabbed the girl's _Frozen_ spoon. Maisy dig right in.  
When she finished, Emily placed the bowl in the dishwasher and they all sat in the living room to watch some cartoons. Maisy leaned on Jennifer and Emily sat next to them.

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JJ hung out with them till it was time to pick Henry up at school. She told Maisy she had to go and of course the child wasn't very happy about it. But she didn't cry.  
"I'll see you tomorrow" Jennifer said feeling bad.

"No. I don't want you to leave" Maisy said really down and refused to let go.

"I promise I'll come in the morning" JJ said and Maisy just kept saying no. JJ looked at Emily unsure of what to do next and Prentiss had an idea.

"Maisy, do you want to go to that sticky thing we see in that window?" Emily asked but Maisy nodded no.

"Are you sure? I think you'll like it there" JJ said.

"I wanna stay with you" Maisy said upset.

"Maisy, JJ needs to go now but she'll come back, just like she did today. Don't worry. She'll come to have breakfast with us again" Emily said and Maisy just stared at her. "How about we go out and try to have some fun so the time can go by fast? And then she'll come back" Emily said.  
Maisy seemed to be thinking about it.

"I'll come tomorrow. I promise" JJ said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Maisy whispered. She sounded so sad, it broke their hearts.  
Jennifer gave her a hug and handed the child to Emily. Maisy rested her head on Emily's shoulder and they walked to the door.

"Anything just call" JJ said.

"You too" Emily said.

"See you tomorrow Maisy" JJ said. "Bye"

"Bye" the little girl whispered sad.

JJ left and Emily closed the door.  
Maisy just broke down. The child's sobs filled the room.  
Outside the door JJ heard it and ended up walking to the elevator crying too.

"Shuuuu she'll be back. It's okay" Emily said. She grabbed Buzz on the couch and Maisy hugged him tight as Emily walked upstairs with the girl crying in her arms. She went to Maisy's bedroom and walked around the room till the child calmed down. Once Maisy stopped crying Emily sat down on the bed and placed the girl on her lap.

"Cars go by" Maisy whispered asking to go sit at the window again.

"Why don't we go see the sticky thing?" Emily asked. "We can get ice cream" Emily said and Maisy nodded.  
"Let's go change then" Emily said. She got some clothes for the girl and helped her change, Maisy still sniffed from time to time and she looked really down.  
Emily put a jacket on, got her bag and Maisy's stroller and headed out.  
Emily walked around pushing Maisy on the stroller and the child seemed to like their little outing. They had ice cream and talked about the monument, then walked some more. Emily took a few pictures of Maisy and sent them to JJ to show her that the girl was okay. They hung out there till around 5pm and then headed to have dinner at a local restaurant close to Emily's building. They ate and had a great time. Maisy was a little upset still but Emily knew the kid would be okay.

When they got home Emily checked the time and it was 7:40. She should get he girl ready for bed.  
"Maisy" Emily said walking to the couch and sitting next to the girl. Maisy looked at her and Emily said "you need a shower today okay?"

Maisy looked down.

"It's going to be okay honey. I'm not going to hurt you" Emily said and went to pick Maisy up. The girl pulled away and tears started rolling down her cheeks.  
"Maisy come on. It's okay" Emily said.

"No. I don't want to" Maisy cried.

"It's gonna be super fast and then we can read a book and go to sleep" Emily said and went to pick Maisy up again. The girl jumped out of the couch and tried to run but Emily caught her. She knew she had to make the girl shower like JJ had done in the hotel or Maisy would never trust her with the bath situation. So she picked Maisy up and carried the girl upstairs to the bathroom. Maisy cried, screamed and kicked. She looked terrified but Emily ignored it. She turned the shower on and put Maisy under it with her clothes still on.

"No! Let me go!" Maisy screamed and cried.

"It's okay. You're doing it already. That's it. It's okay" Emily said. Maisy tried to run and Emily picked her up and hugged her tight under the shower.

"I wanna get out. Please I wanna out" Maisy cried.

"It's almost done" Emily said rocking the girl slightly.

After some time when Maisy seemed to have calmed a bit down, Emily put her down and took the child's clothes off. Maisy fought her but Emily did that anyways. Then she picked Maisy up and held her under the running water and she rubbed the child's back.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Emily kept saying.

Maisy calmed a bit down but she wouldn't stop crying. She was so scared. She felt so vulnerable.

Emily decided that was enough and got out of the shower. She wrapped the girl in her new _Frozen_ towel and grabbed another towel for herself. She dried herself a bit and then carried Maisy to bed. She dressed the girl up and brushed her hair. Maisy had tears streaming down her cheeks the entire time.

"Do you want a story?" Emily asked tucking Maisy in. Maisy shook her head and hid her face on her Olaf pillow pet.

"So goodnight then" Emily said. She went to kiss Maisy and the girl moved away. "Sleep tight" Emily said and walked out. She went downstairs and got Buzz.

"Buzz was asking for you" Emily said walking inside Maisy's bedroom again. Maisy looked at her and Emily handed her the horse.

"Goodnight" Maisy whispered and hugged Buzz. Emily smiled and headed out. She showered and then checked on Maisy who was asleep. She had a glass of wine and then sat on her bed to read for while.

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Maisy slept peacefully for about an hour till nightmares scared her again.

**** **Maisy's Nightmare** ****  
 _I was at Emily's house and we were playing with my dolls when suddenly daddy and mommy burst inside. Dad had a gun and kept yelling at Emily to give me to him. "No" Emily said. "I will kill both of you right now!" Daddy yelled and pointed the gun to us. Emily made me hid behind her as daddy fired. I let out a huge scream._  
**** **END** ****

She woke up screaming and Emily rushed to her bedroom. Emily ran to the bed and picked the girl up.  
"It's okay. It was a bad dream. You're safe. Shuuuuu you're safe" Emily said rocking Maisy who just couldn't stop crying.  
Emily carried the child to the windows downstairs and sat on the chair letting Maisy rest on her chest. Maisy stared out the window and cried herself to sleep holding a tight grip on Emily's shirt.  
Once the girl was asleep Emily carried her upstairs and laid on the bed with her.  
Emily was almost asleep when Maisy sat up letting out another high pitched scream. Emily instantly wrapped the girl in a hug.  
"I'm here. It's okay" Emily said.  
Emily pulled Maisy to her lap and the girl was wet.  
"Oh honey" Emily said feeling really bad.

" _Sowwy_ " Maisy said.

"It's okay" Emily said and got out of the bed. She got another pajama pants and took Maisy to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Maisy was very sleepy, embarrassed and sorry for peeing on the bed that she didn't even mind Emily washing the pee off her with the small shower head. Emily finished, dried Maisy and dressed her up.  
"Let's go to my bed" Emily said and picked Maisy up.

"Buzz" Maisy whispered. Emily got the horse and headed to her bedroom. She laid down with the girl and hugged her tight. Soon Maisy was asleep.  
Emily stared at the child and worried about the future. She knew Maisy would struggle for a while. She hoped she would be able to help the girl.

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The rest of the night was okay. Maisy slept peacefully and Emily too.  
Prentiss woke up at 8 the next day. She changed her clothes and then went to wash the child's bedding. Then she woke Maisy up. She explained to the girl that JJ would visit every morning and she didn't need to worry because JJ would always come back.  
They had breakfast and around 9 Jennifer got there. Maisy was excited to see her. They watched some tv and then played with Maisy's baby doll.

"Maisy, one of my friends wants to meet you today" JJ said. "Her name is Penelope. Do you want to meet her?"

"Sure" Maisy said with a small smile. She knew JJ's and Emily's guy friends and they were all nice so she was happy to meet another girl friend.

So around 11, Garcia stopped by. Emily had just finished putting the bedding back on Maisy's bed when the buzzer rang.

"Come on in" Emily said once Penelope got up there and Garcia walked in excited.

"Where's she?" Garcia asked excited.

"Living room" Emily smiled and they headed there.

Maisy hid on JJ.  
"This is Penelope" JJ said.

"Hi" Garcia said with a smile. Maisy looked at her and smiled shyly.  
"Can I sit here?" Penelope asked pointing to the couch where JJ and Maisy were.  
Maisy nodded. She thought Penelope seemed fun. She was wearing very bright clothes and had funny fluffy things on her hair.

Garcia sat next to her and said "I got you a little present. Do you want to open it?"

Maisy nodded. JJ made her sit up straight and Penelope handed her a pink glittery bag. Maisy took the paper off and pulled out an Anna dress from F _rozen_. Her eyes widened surprised.

"Do you like it? Cause we can get something else if you don't" Garcia said.

"Yes I like it" Maisy said. Her sweet voice made Garcia smile big. "Can I wear?" Maisy asked her.

"Sure" Penelope said. "Come here I'll help you" she said. Maisy got off JJ's lap and stood in front of Penelope.  
Garcia took Maisy's shirt off and helped her put the dress on. Maisy didn't mind at all being undressed. Once she had the dress on, Garcia took the pants off.  
"There you go" she smiled.

"Thank you" Maisy said sweetly.

"You're very welcome" Garcia said smiling. Maisy just went and hugged her.  
Everyone's eyes widened surprise. They thought the child would be a little scared but Maisy was acting like she knew Penelope for a long time. She seemed really comfortable with her.

"I have a doll with this dress too. Wanna see?" Maisy asked.

"Sure" Garcia smiled. Maisy grabbed her hand and pulled her. They went upstairs to Maisy's bedroom.

Emily and JJ sat on the couch really surprised.  
"That was not how I thought it would be" Emily laughed.

"Who doesn't love Garcia, right?" JJ laughed and they followed the two blondes upstairs.


	19. Chapter 19: Garcia and Doctors

Garcia loved Maisy's bedroom and was so happy that the girl seemed to like her. They played with Maisy's dolls and then Maisy asked her to read a story. JJ and Emily were there too.  
Everything went great. They had lunch and then sat to watch a movie. When the film was done it was 2:30 so JJ said she had to go. Maisy acted like she was okay with it. She told herself in her mind over and over again that JJ would be back for breakfast the next day.  
So they said goodbye and JJ left.  
As soon as Emily closed the door Maisy started crying. She wasn't sobbing like the previous day but she was definitely upset.  
Emily scooped her up.  
"She'll be back like today. Don't worry Maisy" Emily said carrying the girl to the living room.  
Maisy started calming down and Garcia asked if she wanted to play with the dolls again. Maisy nodded so Garcia picked her up and they went upstairs.  
While they played together, Emily tided the living room up a bit.  
Suddenly she got a text from JJ.

" _Is she Okay_?" JJ asked.

 _"Yeah. She's upstairs playing dolls with Penelope_ "

" _Did she cry again_?" JJ asked.

 _"Just a little. But she's okay now. Don't worry_ " Emily said.

" _Anything just call and I'll stop by again_ " JJ said.

" _Okay_ ;)"

":)" JJ sent.

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Earlier that day when JJ was there, Emily mentioned Maisy had an accident at night and they talked a bit about that. Both agents knew that was common with abused children. So JJ suggested that Emily should buy pull-ups for the night time.

So around 4, Emily asked if Maisy and Penelope wanted to go to Walmart with her.

"Yeah!" Maisy said really excited making Prentiss and Garcia laugh.

"Let's change so we can go?" Emily asked.

"Can I wear this?" Maisy asked.

Emily smiled and said "go get your shoes on Missy"  
Maisy smiled and ran to get her shoes. She put on her black and white converse and walked downstairs to where Emily and Garcia was. Emily helped her put her jacket on and then took her hand.

"Stroller" Maisy said.

"You can sit on the cart" Emily said and Maisy smiled.

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They walked around Walmart and had a great time. Maisy seemed relaxed and happy with Emily and Penelope. They got some food and drinks, and Emily ended up buying two dresses and a shirt that Maisy liked. Then they went to the diaper section. Maisy looked a little upset when she noticed Emily was going to buy one.

"What's wrong?" Penelope asked when she noticed the girl looking a bit down on the shopping cart.

"I don't want diaper. They for babies" Maisy said.

"Oh honey they are for little kids not just for babies. It's okay to use it sometimes" Emily said.

"I don't want it" Maisy said with tears in her eyes.

Emily didn't understand why the girl was crying.  
Maisy didn't like wearing diapers. Her parents used to make her wear it when she peed her bed and they told her a lot of horrible things about it and called her a lot of bad names because of wearing it. She hated it.

Emily picked up _pull-ups_ and explained to the girl what it was for and how she could put on herself. Maisy stopped crying but wasn't really happy about needing diapers.

"We'll try it to see if it helps okay?" Emily said. "You'll just wear them at night and that's it"

"Okay" Maisy said so Emily put four packs inside the cart and hey headed to pay.  
They went back home and Penelope left soon after that.  
Emily and Maisy watched cartoons in the living room till it was time for dinner. Emily cooked and Maisy wanted to help. They had a great time and then sat on the table to eat.  
After dinner Maisy asked to go to her bedroom and Emily told her it was okay so she went upstairs while Emily put the dishes away. Maisy got her pajamas and changed her clothes before Emily could tell her to take a shower. She got under the covers and laid down.

Emily headed upstairs to get Maisy ready for bed at 7. She found the girl laying in bed. When Maisy saw her she hid her face knowing exactly why Emily was there.

"Maisy it's not bed time yet" Emily said and Maisy stayed quiet.  
Emily knew she couldn't let the girl just sleep like that. She knew she had to do what JJ had done and make Maisy shower in order for her to see that is was okay or she would end up always being scared.  
Emily walked to the bed and went to pick Maisy up.

"Come on. You know you need to shower everyday" Emily said softly. Maisy pulled away but Emily picked her up anyway. Maisy started crying but Prentiss pretended she didn't care even though the girl's cries broke her heart.  
She just carried Maisy to the bathroom.  
The girl kept crying and asking Emily not to but Emily undressed her and put her under the shower. Maisy cried harder and tried to get away but Emily held her there. After some time Maisy started to calm down and Emily slowly let go of her. The girl stood there and Emily told her to use the soap. Maisy did what she was told as tears streamed down her face. Emily helped her wash it off and then turned the shower off. She breathed out relieved as she wrapped Maisy in a towel. Yes the girl was crying but it wasn't as bad as the day before so that meant progress.  
Emily dried Maisy and grabbed a pull-up from the bathroom cabinet.

"No" Maisy said upset.

"It's okay Maisy. It's just so you won't pee on the bed again. It's alright" Emily said. She put it on Maisy and turned to get the pajamas. Maisy sprinted off. Since the hard part was done Emily let Maisy go. She got the pajamas, turned the light off and headed to the child's bedroom. She found Maisy under the bed.  
"Come out honey. It's alright. You're all done. It's time for bed now" Emily said. Maisy thought for a while and then crawled out and got on the bed. She covered herself and laid down.  
"You don't want to put your pjs on?" Emily asked and Maisy hid her face.  
"Okay, you don't have to." Emily said. "Do you want me to read you a story?" She asked. Maisy looked up and nodded shyly. Emily grabbed a book and sat next to the small child. Maisy cuddled Buzz and Emily and was soon fast asleep. Emily finished the book anyways, placed a kiss on the girl's forehead and headed to bed. She was exhausted.  
For her luck Maisy slept peacefully the whole night.

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The next day went okay. Maisy woke up and asked to wear her Anna dress again so she played around with JJ and Emily wearing her princess dress. Emily and JJ talked after lunch when they were putting the dishes away while Maisy watched cartoons in the living room. Emily was happy about how things were going even though the shower thing was still hard. JJ reminded her that Maisy needed to do a blood test that week to check if her nutrition was getting any better since they took her to the hospital the day they found her. JJ suggested taking Maisy to Henry's pediatrician. Of course Emily agreed on that and decided to make an appointment. JJ said she wouldn't be able to go with them if the appointment was in the afternoon so Emily called and tried to schedule it for the morning but failed. They only had three spots available, all in the afternoon. Emily decided to just get it over with and scheduled for the next day at 4. She explained it to JJ and Jennifer agreed it would be best to just do it already. So they walked to the living room and explained to Maisy. The girl wasn't very happy about it but didn't cry until JJ said she wouldn't be going.  
They managed to calm her down but she was upset. JJ left after sometime and Maisy cried again. Emily sat with Maisy and looked out the window so the girl would calm down and it worked just like every other time.

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The next day, Maisy was terrified to go to the doctors. Emily tried to make things fun and exciting but it didn't really work. Maisy was scared.

They walked in and the girl quickly hugged Emily's leg. Emily scooped her up and sat her on the exam table. Maisy hugged her.  
The doctor was really nice and calm and Maisy started to get more comfortable. Doctor Amelia Jones was even able to make Maisy giggle when she tickled the girl a little. She did a quick check up and the worst part was when she had to look at Maisy's private area. The girl cried a little and didn't want to let the doctor look but Emily hugged her and convinced her to.  
"She's healing really well. Her bruises should fade completely in about a week or so" the woman said.  
Then they did the blood test, Maisy cried a little but soon stopped.  
"Wow you're so brave Maisy. Look at that tough girl" doctor Jones and Maisy smiled shyly and hid her face on Emily.  
The woman had read the girl's files so she explained to Emily that Maisy hadn't got any vaccines since she was 1 and a half. She explained that if Maisy was going to go to school soon they had to catch-up with all the shots.

"How many are you talking?" Emily asked worried.

"There are 6 missing in her chart and 4 she would need before going to school" doctor Jones said. "She can't take all of them today. We can do four right now and then she'll need to wait 3 weeks and do the other two she's missing. Then before she starts school she'll need the other 4."

As much as Emily hated the idea of Maisy getting four shots she knew it was necessary and JJ told her she could trust the doctor so she agreed with her.  
The woman went to get everything ready and Emily explained what would happen to Maisy.

"I know you're scared but I'll be here the whole time. It's just a tiny sting and then it's all done and we can go get ice cream, okay?" Emily said.

Maisy nodded looking down. She was scared. Emily wrapped her in a hug and she started crying.

"It's okay. It will be super quick and then we can get ice cream" Emily said wiping the girl's tears.

The doctor walked in and went to the table.  
"The first one is on your arm okay little one?" Doctor Jones said and Maisy nodded with tears in her eyes. Emily held Maisy's hand and the girl bravely sat there as she got the shot. She said "Ow" and that was it. The doctor put the bandaid on and said she did awesome.  
"Now can you lay down for me?" Doctor Jones asked and Maisy got really scared. She shook her head no and grabbed Emily's shirt.

"It's okay I'm right here" Emily said hugging her. "Come on, lay down"

"No. don't want to" Maisy cried.

"It's okay Maisy. It's going to be like that one. You didn't even flinch" Emily said slightly pushing Maisy down.

"Hold her arms please." The doctor said and Emily did as told.  
"You're going to be okay" Emily said as Maisy looked in her eyes.  
Doctor Jones pulled Maisy's dress up and lowered her tights. The girl started crying more and moving. The doctor and Emily held her down and doctor Jones went for it. The first shot Maisy just said "ow". The second one she lost it. She stared screaming and sobbing.

"I know this one hurt a little. It's almost done" doctor Jones said as Maisy sobbed. When she took it off Maisy cried even harder.

"No more! No more!" Maisy cried and tried to move but they were holding her too tight.

"Last one" Doctor Jones said and did it. That one made Maisy scream very loud.  
Emily's heart broke to see the girl in pain. She hated doctors and hospitals, she just wanted to grab Maisy and go home but she knew that was for her own good.

"All done" the doctor said and let go of Maisy.

Emily picked Maisy up and rocked her around the room. The girl just kept crying.

"She might have a fever so you can give her some Tylenol and that should help." The woman said and Emily nodded. "We'll be getting her results back in about 2 hours and I'll call to let you know" the woman said and Emily nodded again. "So I'll see her in three weeks" Doctor Jones said handing a paper to Emily.

"Thank you" Emily said and the doctor walked out.

"Shuuuu it's all done. We can go get ice cream now" Emily told Maisy who was still crying.

"I wanna go home Emi" Maisy cried.

"Okay. We're going home" Emily said. "Let's fix your clothes" Emily said. She put Maisy on the exam table. The girl stood there and Emily pulled her tights up. Maisy cried and said her legs were hurting.

"I know baby. It will go away soon" Emily said picking Maisy up again. They went to the car and headed home.

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Emily took Maisy home right away. The kid was still crying when they got there. Emily carried her to the apartment and sat on the couch. She turned the tv on and held Maisy in her arms. Maisy cried herself to sleep about 14 minutes later.  
Emily knew Maisy would probably wake up crying so just stayed in the living room and sat watching tv with the girl on her lap.


	20. Chapter 20: Ice Princess

The kid slept for about an hour. The house was quiet with only the tv noise, when Maisy woke up screaming and in tears, she looked at Emily's eyes and hid her head on Emily's arms, she just wanted to hide and disappear. Emily hugged her really tight. "It's okay, I'm right here. It was just a bad dream." Said Emily.

"I don't" said Maisy.

"You don't what?" Asked Emily. The girl just cried more.

"I don't want it." Said Maisy bursting into tears.

"What is it baby?" Asked Emily.

"Bad dreams." Said Maisy.

"Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry." Said Emily. She got up and started walking around with Maisy in her arms just like JJ would do. She just wanted to make it stop but she couldn't, the kid was in pain and there was nothing she could do. So she decided to go out. Maisy needed to be distracted so she wouldn't think to much about the pain on her leg and all of those things she kept having bad dreams about.  
Emily carried the girl to her closet and got a jacket for herself, it was a bit cold outside.  
When they got to the car Maisy was still crying, she placed the kid on the car seat, then got into the drivers seat and called JJ she didn't know who else to call. Maisy seemed so scared and in pain, Emily just thought the kid really needed JJ.

"Hi J. Are you busy?"

"Not really. Will and Henry just went out. Why? Is everything okay?" JJ Asked.

"It was so chaotic at the doctors. I think she needs you right now" Emily said unsure of what else to say. "Do you want to go out with us? I pick you up in 5 minutes."

"Sure. Will went to Walmart with Henry so they might take a while. I'll just write him something and I'll go wait for you at the porch."

"Ok. I'll be right there in a minute." Emily said and then hung up. She looked behind and Maisy was cuddling with her horse, she was still crying but not that much.  
"We're going to see JJ okay?" Emily said and Maisy nodded.  
Emily was expecting a little smile or a sign of relieve but Maisy just kept crying.

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When they go to JJ's house Maisy was sleeping. Emily got out of the car and explained to JJ what happened, so they decided to take Maisy to McDonald's to get cheeseburgers. Every kid loves that place and none of them had eaten anything for a long time so JJ got into the passenger seat and Emily started driving.

When they got there Emily took Maisy out, they went inside and got a table. The kid woke up with the noise from the place. She got scared and held Emily tight.  
"Look who's here" Emily said and Maisy looked at JJ. She let go of Emily and threw herself on JJ's arms. Jennifer hugged the girl and Emily smiled. Maisy started crying.

"Oh Maisy" JJ said feeling bad. "It's okay honey"

"It hurt so bad" Maisy cried.

"I know but we can't let you get sick and that helps a lot. You'll feel better super fast" JJ said.  
She held the girl for a while till she calmed down.

"Let's eat something?" JJ said placing Maisy next to her. The kid didn't say anything.

"So what do you want to eat?" Emily asked but got no answer.

"Happy meal?" JJ asked. "It comes with a little bear look." Said JJ pointing to a sign with a bunch of pictures of the prizes.

"So you want that?" Asked Emily.

Maisy nodded.

"Which color do you like most?" Jennifer asked.

"Blue" said Maisy.

"Stay here with JJ while I go buy it" Said Emily. Maisy nodded yes and then Emily went to get the food. Jennifer tried to start a conversation asking about Maisy's room and Buzz but the girl pretended she wasn't listening. Jj knew Maisy was probably feeling tired and scared and just didn't really want to talk. So she just threw one arm around the girl's shoulder and Maisy rested her head.

After about 5 minutes Emily came back with the food. Maisy slowly ate her meal. She looked happier eating her cheeseburger so once she was done Emily asked if she wanted to play. The kid said yes and Emily took her to the playing area.  
While Maisy payed with a big puzzle, JJ and Emily talked about her. Emily told JJ about the nightmares Maisy was having and about the showering thing. JJ reassured her that the nightmares scared Maisy so bad because she was so little and couldn't really tell they weren't real by herself.  
JJ felt bad that she wasn't the one next to Maisy at night but she was glad Emily was. She could see how great Emily was with the girl and what a good job she was doing.

"I just wish I could make it all better. I wish she wouldn't feel that." Said Emily.

"She'll be okay, she has us. And you're doing great with her " JJ smiled and Emily smiled too.

"Thank you." Said Emily.

Out of nowhere Maisy ran to them. She hugged Jennifer's legs and JJ picked her up.  
"I wanna go now." Said Maisy.

"Ok." Agreed JJ.

"Do you wanna go get ice cream?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Said Maisy shyly.

"Okay let's go." Said Emily with a smile.

After getting the ice cream they went outside and sat on a table there, Emily and JJ were talking about a beautiful garden on the left. Maisy was more interested on the big mall they had across the street. They had a big sign talking about ice skating. She remembered watching that on tv and suddenly she felt sad. When she saw it on tv for the first time a couple months before, she loved it and asked her mother to take her to do that. Her mother laughed and made fun of her and said she would never ever do it.

Maisy's eyes filled up with tears as she remembered.

"Hey what's wrong?" Asked Emily. Maisy didn't cry, she held her tears and pointed to the sign.

"What's with ice skating honey?" JJ asked but Maisy didn't answer.

"Do you want to skate?" Asked Emily.

"I can?" Maisy asked in disbelief.

"Do you want to?" Emily asked. Maisy nodded yes but suddenly she remember her leg was hurting and she didn't even want to walk because of that. So she looked down.

"Your leg hurt?" JJ asked just knowing and Maisy nodded.

"We can come tomorrow if you feel better" Emily said.

"We can? Really?" Maisy asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled and Maisy smiled suddenly really excited.

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When they finished eating the ice cream they headed home. Emily dropped JJ off. Maisy said goodbye and didn't cry at all this time. She was excited about meeting JJ at the ice skating place the next morning.  
When Emily got home, Maisy had fallen asleep. She picked the girl up and noticed she was a bit feverish. She carried Maisy to bed and checked her fever. She gave her some medicine and tucked her in. The child was so tired that she fell back asleep really fast. Emily let her sleep and prayed for a peaceful night.

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The next morning Emily woke Maisy up and they ate breakfast then changed and headed out to the mall. Maisy was feeling much better and was really excited to skate.  
She was a little scared in the beginning but had fun trying to learn from JJ while Emily struggled too. Emily saw there was a class for kids 4 and older so she asked what JJ thought about that.

"She seems to be having a great time" JJ smiled as she watched Maisy determined to let go of the bar. "Oh they have Hockey! I can see if Henry wants to do that" JJ smiled.

Emily left the two blondes skating and signed Maisy up. The classes were every Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm. For their luck the teacher was there and wanted to meet Maisy. The girl was so happy when Emily said she was going to go there twice a week to learn how to skate really well. The teacher thought Maisy was adorable and she loved how excited the child was.

"How about a little private now? It's on the house" The woman, Miss Jane, asked. She was small, pale and had a pretty long brunette hair and green eyes. She was so surprised at how happy the 4 year old looked and how hard she was trying to learn to skate.  
Emily and JJ watched as the woman easily taught Maisy. The girl got the hang of it really quick. She fell three times but quickly got back up and tried again.

"She does have something" Miss Jane said and Emily and JJ smiled.  
"I'll see on Tuesday Maisy" Jane said and waved. Maisy waved back smiling.

They skated some more and then walked around the mall. Maisy wouldn't stop talking about how much she liked her lesson and how excited she was to skate again with Miss Jane,  
JJ and Emily smiled the entire time, happy to see the girl so happy.  
They had lunch and then JJ said she had to go. Maisy asked when she would see her again and JJ realized it was Friday. She wasn't sure if she would be able to stop by at Emily's house the next day.  
"Soon" JJ said. For her luck Maisy assumed it was the next day and didn't mind at all. She said goodbye and JJ left.

"I think I need to eat some ice cream. What do you think?" Emily said and Maisy smiled. They walked to the ice cream place and happily ate it.

"Can we go home now? I miss Buzz" Maisy said.

"Sure" said Emily.  
They headed to the car and Emily drove home. In the middle of the way Maisy started silently crying.  
"What's wrong?" Emily asked worried watching the girl from the review mirror.

"I wanna go home." Maisy said.

"We are almost there" said Emily. "It's okay im right here with you. You are alright, ok? Im here." Said Emily.

"Buzz" Maisy cried but Emily had a feeling the crying was not because of the horse.

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When they got home Emily carried Maisy inside and went straight to the girl's bedroom where Buzz was waiting on the bed. Maisy hugged him tight and Emily asked if she wanted to watch tv so they went downstairs. Later they had dinner and watched cartoons together.  
Around 7:30, Emily took Maisy to the bathroom. The girl cried again and refused to get in the shower. Emily decided to try something different and filled the tub as Maisy cried in her arms. She undressed the girl and put her inside. Maisy didn't fight her off but she kept crying. Emily quickly bathed the girl and washed her hair. Maisy cried the entire time.  
When it was over Emily dried the child and got a pull-up diaper. She put it on the girl and put pjs on. She carefully brushed Maisy's hair and the girl started calming down as she realized it was almost done. Emily finished and picked Maisy up. The child rested her head on Emily's shoulder and said "cars go by" so Emily got Buzz and headed to the window downstairs.  
Knowing the little girl would soon be asleep, Emily got a grey blanket from the couch and wrapped Maisy in it. The girl rested on Emily's chest and soon fell asleep. Emily carried her to bed, when she placed Maisy down the girl woke up.

"Can I stay on your bed?" The little one whispered.

"Of course you can" Emily said with a little smile. She carried the girl to her bed and tucked her in. "I'm going to shower and I'll be right back. You stay here with Buzz, okay?" Emily said. Maisy hugged Buzz and put her thumb in her mouth. Soon she fell asleep again.  
Once Emily was done she walked back to find Maisy asleep. She laid next to the girl and just stared at her sleeping peacefully.  
She started thinking about the last few days and she couldn't believe how strong the kid was. She didn't try to run away from the shower that day. She cried but she was brave. Emily was proud of her but so sorry at the same time. She wished she could make it all stop. The nightmares, the crying, everything. She just wanted Maisy to be okay.  
That night she just hoped Maisy would be able to sleep okay.  
Luckily she did.


	21. Chapter 21: No Jennifer

The next morning Maisy woke up and smiled when she saw Emily sitting next to her, working on some papers.

"Good morning Miss Maisy" Emily smiled.

"Good morning" Maisy said.

"Let's go have breakfast?" Emily asked and the girl nodded so Emily pulled the kid to her and carried her downstairs.  
"Do you have a clean diaper today?" Emily asked.

"I think so" Maisy said.

"Good job" Emily smiled.

They sat and the kid ate some cereal and blueberries while Emily drank some coffee.

"Can we watch movie while wait for Jennifer?" Maisy asked in her sweet kid talk.

Emily froze not knowing what to say.  
She didn't think JJ would be able to stop by on a Saturday since Henry was home the entire day.  
She thought for a bit and said "sure" with a smile. She didn't want Maisy to be upset so early in the morning.

"Let's go change and then we'll watch a movie downstairs" Emily said carrying the girl up. She took Maisy's diaper off and saw she had a rash. She put some cream on it and helped Maisy put her panties on and then her dress.

"Go brush your teeth, princess" Emily said and Maisy did as told while Emily changed.

Soon they went to the living room and sat to watch " _Despicable Me_ ".

Twenty minutes into the film Emily got a text from JJ saying that she wouldn't be able to stop by. Henry and Will were home.

" _She'll be fine_ " Emily texted her friend and JJ sent a smily face.

Emily watched 10 more minutes of the movie and then told Maisy she was going to sit at the office to work for a little bit.  
She grabbed her bag and left Maisy watching the movie alone. The little girl kept a tight grip on her horse, Buzz, and hoped JJ would arrive soon. She didn't like being alone in there.

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About 40 minutes later, Maisy couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Buzz and went to find Emily.

Emily was working on the computer and felt EYES staring at her. She looked at the door and found Maisy there looking rather sad.

"What's the matter Maisy?" Emily asked worried.

"When is JJ coming?" Maisy asked as her eyes filled with tears. She already missed Jennifer so much.

"Oh Maisy. Come here" Emily said feeling bad.

The little girl walked to her and Emily pulled her to her lap.  
"JJ needs to stay in her house today. But she'll come another day" Emily said.

"She's not coming today?" Maisy asked on the verge of tears.

"She can't come today." Emily said feeling really bad and Maisy just bursted into tears.  
"Oh honey" Emily said and got up with the girl in her arms. She walked around the room trying to calm Maisy down but it wasn't working.

"How about if we go out for a little while? Do you wanna do that?" Emily asked.

"I want Jennifer" Maisy cried.

Emily put Maisy down and got on one knee. She grabbed Maisy's hand and said "I know that Maisy. But remember that she needs to talk to her husband and she can't do that if she's here."

"I just want her here" Maisy cried.

"I know you do and you'll see her soon. I promise" Emily said. Maisy's bottom lip was killing her.

"Do you want to go out with me?" Emily asked.

Maisy shook her head no and said "I want you to watch a movie with me"

"Okay" Emily said and picked the small child up again. She quickly turned her computer off and they went to the living room. Emily put on _Frozen_ and sat on the couch next to Maisy. The girl climbed on her lap and held Buzz tight.

The rest of the day was like that.  
Maisy was clinging on to Emily and the woman could see the kid was scared she would never see JJ again so Emily kept talking to her about going out for lunch with JJ some other day and things like that.  
At night time, Emily gave Maisy a bath and Maisy didn't fight her this time. But she cried through the entire thing. Emily felt bad and wished she could do more to help.  
Emily dried the kid and dressed her in a diaper and comfy Minnie Mouse pajamas. She carefully brushed the child's hair and carried Maisy to the bedroom.

"Can I sleep with you again?" Maisy asked. Tears still streamed down her face.

"Of course you can" Emily said with a sad smile and carried Maisy to her bed. The girl cuddled up to Buzz and Emily went for a quick shower.  
She walked out of the bathroom to find Maisy fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth and a really tight grip on Buzz. Emily laid down and prayed for a peaceful night.

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For Emily's luck the child slept the entire night and woke up around 8am. Emily cooked some pancakes and they ate watching cartoons in the living room.

"Are you all done?" Emily asked when she noticed the little girl wasn't eating anymore.  
Maisy nodded yes so Emily took everything to the kitchen.  
When Emily walked back in the room Maisy was looking sad again. Emily picked her up and carried her upstairs to get changed.

"Is she coming today?" Maisy asked when Emily put her down on the bedroom floor.

"I don't know honey" Emily said honestly.

Maisy's bottom lip showed she was about to cry but before she did that Emily picked her up. She ran her hand on the girl's back and suddenly Maisy started sobbing. Emily knew how attached the child had become to JJ and she felt so bad that her friend couldn't just take the girl home with her. She walked around the room trying to calm Maisy down but the tiny child couldn't stop crying. She was shaking.  
After about 20 minutes Emily took Maisy downstairs and sat to watch the car passing by. The child started to calm down and soon the house was quiet again. Emily took Maisy's diaper off but let Maisy stay in her pajamas all day. They watched cartoons and cuddled on the couch. The little girl was a mess and would just start crying out of nowhere. The entire day was like that.  
At dinner time Maisy refused to eat. When Emily took her upstairs to get ready for bed she cried and screamed for JJ.

Maisy thought that if she did that, threw tantrums and things like that, Jennifer would go help Emily. So she threw a major tantrum at shower time. With kicks and screams.  
But Emily saw it was different from the previous days. It was a different cry. So she held the child tight and put her in the shower anyways and got the girl ready for bed.

"Stop" Maisy screamed as Emily brushed her hair. "Please stop It!"

"Maisy. It's okay. I'm almost done" Emily said.

"I want you to stop. Please stop" Maisy said crying for real now as the memories of her parents holding her down to do that filled her mind.

Emily realized this time it wasn't just a tantrum. She put the brush on the sink and wrapped Maisy in her arms.  
"I'm sorry. It's okay." Emily said and Maisy let out a sob.

Emily picked her up and took her to the bedroom. She started walking around the room like she did earlier but Maisy wouldn't stop and Emily knew it wasn't a tantrum, she knew that was a real cry, a cry from someone hurt and scared.  
She just gave up and called JJ. She put Maisy on her bed and got her cellphone and called Jennifer.

"Hi" Emily said.

JJ could hear Maisy crying, "what happened?" She asked worried.

"She won't stop crying" Emily said. "She wants you" she said.

"Em I can't go. Henry is sick"

"Oh no" Emily said.

"Try the cars, maybe it will help" JJ said. "I'll try to stop by tomorrow" she said.

"Okay." Emily said and took a deep breath. "I'll figure it out. Send a hug to Henry" Emily said.

"Kiss her goodnight for Me" JJ said and they hung up.

Emily went to the bed and pulled Maisy to her lap.

"It's okay. Shuuuu" she said and rocked the girl a little.

"Emi" Maisy cried. "I'm scared" she cried.

"It's okay. You're safe. I'm right here with you. I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise" Emily said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

"Why can't she stay here with me?" Maisy cried.

"Maisy she wants to do that. She really does. But today her son is sick and she needs to stay with him." Emily explained and Maisy looked at her and listened. Emily saw the kid was heartbroken. "Do you want to watch the cars with me?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded. So Emily took her downstairs to their usual spot. Emily started talking about what they were seeing and Maisy started calming down. Suddenly the child put her thumb in her mouth and Emily knew she would be asleep soon so she grabbed a blanket from the couch and bundled Maisy up.  
Soon enough the girl was out.  
Emily went upstairs and laid down next to the small child. She fell asleep really fast without even showering or changing her clothes.  
It had been a long day.

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At home, JJ felt really bad but she really couldn't leave Henry at the time. The boy was sick and was asking for her. She knew that if she left she would hurt him and she would also make things even worse with Will. So she stayed and went to bed unable to hide how upset she was.

The next morning, Monday, Jennifer woke up and woke Henry up to see if he was well enough to go to school. The boy sat on the bed and threw up. JJ knew it would be another long day for her... and Emily.


	22. Chapter 22: Important Decisions

Monday was a total mess again. Maisy thought since it was Monday and JJ's son would be in school that JJ would see her, so she woke up happier. She had Cheerios for breakfast and then Emily took her upstairs to change.

"Did you have a bad dream Maisy?" Emily asked when she saw the girl had peed on the diaper. Maisy just looked sad.

"Did you?" Emily asked. "It's okay." She added.

"I don't know" the little girl said. The truth was that she didn't remember having a bad dream, the accident just happened.

"Let's get you cleaned up" Emily said with a small smile trying to light up her mood. But Maisy stayed quiet and she looked sad again.  
Emily carefully stripped Maisy down and placed her in the bath. This time the girl didn't cry. She stood there quietly while Emily cleaned her up. Once done, Emily wrapped Maisy in a towel and took her to the bedroom.

"What do you wanna wear today?" Emily asked with a smile. She was so relieved bath time went well and with no tears.

Maisy shrugged.

"I think the day is calling for a princess dress" Emily smiled and got the Frozen dress Penelope had bought the girl. Maisy let out a little smile that melted Emily's heart.  
The woman dressed the child with the dress, underwear and some comfy pink socks. Maisy grabbed Buzz and Emily carried her downstairs. They sat to watch tv and as the time went by Maisy saw JJ was taking too long. She climbed on Emily's lap and said...

"She is not coming again" she said with such a sad face that broke Emily's heart.

"She'll come as soon as Henry gets better" Emily said wrapping the girl in her arms.

The rest of the day consisted of Maisy wanting to be close to Emily at all times. They watched tv, Emily cooked lunch and Maisy sat in the kitchen close to her, they ate together, watched a movie and then Maisy took a nap on Emily's lap. Around 4, JJ called. Maisy was sleeping so Emily answered the phone right there.

"Hi. How is she?" Jennifer asked.

"She's taking a nap. And doing better than yesterday" Emily said. "I just can't leave her side"

"Henry is super sick. He's been throwing up all morning" JJ explained.

"Hey. It's okay J. You don't have to explain anything to me. They are your family" Emily said.

"And I desperately want her in it" JJ said and Emily felt bad.

"How's it going with Will?" Emily asked.

"We had a fight the other day and honestly I can't look him in the eye right now" JJ said.

"If you guys don't talk this will never work the way you want" Emily said.

"I know" Jennifer said.

"Look. Take care of Henry and don't worry about Maisy. I've got her. She'll be okay. Just take your time and talk to Will... and please don't fight." Emily said. "You want to add a new member to your family, not break the one you already have" she added.

Jennifer smiled. "I know."

Suddenly Maisy started moving.

"She's waking up, I gotta go" Emily said.

"Bye" JJ said and they hung up.

Maisy opened her eyes to find Emily smiling at her.  
"Did you take a good nap?" Emily asked.

Maisy nodded and cuddled up to Emily. The woman hugged the girl tight.

The rest of the day they spent watching tv. Maisy looked sad pretty much the entire time. Dinner went fine and the shower time too. Maisy didn't cry but Emily knew she was sad. Again the child wanted to sleep close to Emily so Prentiss carried the girl to her bed, took a quick shower and joined Maisy who cuddled up to her and soon fell asleep.

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The next morning, Tuesday, Emily woke Maisy up hoping for a better day. The girl had an ice skating class so Emily thought she would be happier that day.  
But she was wrong.  
They spent the morning at home and when the time came Emily took the girl to her class. Maisy was a little bubble of excitement on the way there. She was excited to skate and she thought for sure Jennifer would meet them there again.  
They got to the rink and Miss Jane walked to them.

"Where's Jennifer?" Maisy asked as her eyes searched the place.

"You're having a class today remember?" Emily said.

"She's not coming?" Maisy asked.

"I don't think so honey" Emily said feeling bad.

Maisy felt so sad, she just wanted to cry and leave. She started crying and hid behind Emily's leg. Emily scooped her up and Maisy cried into her neck.

"I wanna go back to house" the little girl cried.

"Oh Maisy. You were so excited to skate" Emily said rubbing circles on the girl's back.

Miss Jane got there and asked what happened.

"She's a little upset" Emily said.

"Oh miss Maisy come skate with us" Jane said. "Look you have a bunch of new friends waiting" she added pointing to the other 5 kids in her class.

"I don't want to" Maisy cried.

Jane and Emily felt bad.

"Why don't you guys watch for a little while" Jane suggested. Emily nodded and carried Maisy. She sat down with the small girl in her lap. Maisy was holding on for dear life and she refused to even watch the class. She just sat there hiding her face on Emily's chest.  
Once the class was done, miss Jane walked to them and kneed down in front of Maisy.

"Do you want to skate with me for a little while?" She asked hopeful. "Just you and I" she said thinking that the girl was probably just shy.

Maisy shook her head no.

"Here" miss Jane said placing a sticker on Maisy's shirt. "Every class you'll get one and at the end of the month you can trade them for things" she explained. Maisy looked at the sticker and then at Jane.

"And I'm giving you this to help you feel a little better today" Jane said holding out a lollipop.

Maisy took it and whispered "thank you"

"You're welcome" Jane smiled. "And I expect you to skate with me on the next class" she added.

"Thank you" Emily mouthed and Jane smiled and gave her a nod.  
Prentiss took the girl and when they parked the car Emily saw someone different waiting at the building.

"You must be Emily Prentiss" the woman said. She was tall and had a long light brown hair. "I'm Daisy. I'll be working on Maisy's case" she explained.

"Oh hi" Emily said and shook the woman's hand.

"Is everything okay?" Daisy asked when she noticed Maisy had tears stains on her face.

"Yeah yeah" Emily said picking the girl up. "She just went to her first ice skating class and was a little scared" she said. "Let's go inside" Emily said and the went to the elevator.  
Maisy hid on Emily's neck and refused to look at the woman. She was terrified she would take her away.  
When they got to the apartment Emily put Maisy down on the floor of the living room but the child refused to let go and started crying.

"Honey it's okay" Emily said.

"No! I don't wanna go. Please I wanna stay" Maisy cried, desperately holding onto Emily.

Prentiss scooped her up and said "you're not going anywhere."

Maisy just cried.

"Why don't you play in your room while I talk to Miss Daisy, huh?" Emily said and carried the child upstairs, leaving the social worked alone. She put Maisy on the bed and got her babydoll.  
"Here. Just stay here. I'll come back soon" she said and left the room, closing the door behind her. Maisy hugged Buzz tight and just cried. She was so scared.

Emily walked downstairs and explained Maisy was scared and that she had been upset for a little while because of JJ but she felt like she was handling well.

"It's normal for small children to get attached." Daisy said. "I was told Miss Jareau will eventually adopt her"

"That's the plan" Emily said.

There was an awkward silence and then the woman said "I came for a routine check. That will happen every six months if she stays in your house as a foster child" Daisy explained and Emily nodded. "Could you show me around?" The woman asked.

Emily gave her a tour of the house and everything seemed okay. She left Maisy's room for last and when they walked in Maisy quickly hid under the bed.

"It's a lovely room" Daisy said and walked out not wanting to upset the girl even more. They went back downstairs and Daisy said "it's required in Maisy's case that she sees a child psychologist. I can see she's really shy so that might be hard in the beginning but extremely necessary due to everything that happened"

"Okay" Emily nodded.

"Do you have one in mind or would you like a recommendation?" Daisy asked.

"No. I got one" Emily said wanting to take Maisy to someone she knew, the FBI psychologist.

"Alright. Any news on her case I'll call you" Daisy said.

"Thank you so much" Emily said and soon the woman left.

Prentiss basically ran to Maisy's bedroom. She found the girl still hiding under the bed.  
"Come out Maisy. She's gone" Emily said kneeing down next to the bed.

Maisy crawled out and went to Emily's arms.

"Please don't let her take me away" the girl cried.

"She won't, honey" Emily said and picked the girl up.

Maisy refused to leave Emily alone for the rest of the day and Prentiss felt glad to be there for the girl. At dinner time, Emily made some noddles and soon after they finished Emily called the FBI psychologist. The woman said she'd be happy to see Maisy and scheduled an appointment for Thursday at 6.  
That night Emily gave Maisy a bath and the girl cried the entire time. She just felt so scared that Daisy would come back and take her back to her parents. She couldn't help but cry.  
Emily dried her up, put her diaper and her pajamas on and rocked the girl to sleep while watching the car go by at the big window downstairs. Once Maisy was sleeping Prentiss took her to bed, showered and then laid next to the girl.  
She texted JJ to let her know about the social worker and JJ said Henry was feeling much better and that she would probably be able to stop by the next day. Emily smiled relieved, happy Maisy would finally see her favorite person.

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So the next morning, Prentiss woke up and made some scrambled eggs for breakfast. She woke Maisy up and they ate together. Then they sat to watch tv. Maisy wanted to lay on Emily's lap again and the woman happily let her.  
Around 10:30, the door bell rang. Emily smiled and got up with Maisy in her arms. Maisy hid on her neck scared it was Daisy.  
Prentiss opened the door and smiled to see JJ standing there.

"Look who it is" Emily smiled and Maisy looked at the door. When her eyes met JJ's she quickly hid again.

Emily looked at Jennifer with a _sorry_ face.  
"Come on in. We're watching Mickey Mouse" Emily said and they went to the living room. They sat down on the couch and Maisy kept hiding her face.

"Hey" Emily told the girl. "You wanted to see her so bad. She's here now" she said but Maisy wouldn't look up.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come for a while" JJ said. "Henry wasn't feeling very good" she explained.

But Maisy still hid.

"Maisy" Emily said making the girl sit up straight. "Look at me" she said putting her hand on the child's chin in order for her to look up.  
"She's here" Emily said.

Maisy just started crying. JJ didn't think twice and pulled the girl to her lap and hugged her tight.

"I wanna go with you" Maisy cried.

"You will soon" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears. She felt so bad. She just held the child till she calmed down. "Why don't we go to your room to read some books for a while?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.

"I'm gonna shower. Anything just go get me" Emily said.

They went upstairs and while Emily showered, JJ sat on Maisy's bed with the girl.

"I'm really sorry Maisy" JJ said and Maisy looked down.

"I thought you _was_ never coming back" Maisy said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"I'm always. Always. Going to come back" JJ said pulling the girl to her arms. "I promise"

Maisy rested on her and JJ started reading the girl a story.

.

Throughout the day, Maisy became very needy of JJ again, just like she was when they were in the hotel. Jennifer knew that going home would be hard but she was not ready for what happened. Maisy threw a major fit. She kicked and screamed as Emily held her so Jennifer could leave the apartment.

"Don't leave! Don't!" The child cried desperately trying to grab JJ again.

Jennifer left and Maisy just sobbed. Emily walked around the room and rocked her till she cried herself to sleep.

JJ drove home and couldn't help but cry. She absolutely hated seeing the girl so upset. She just wanted Maisy with her.  
She parked her car and walked inside to find Will walking around with Henry in his arms.

"What happened?" She asked worried.

"Where the heck were you!?" Will asked.

"What happened?" JJ asked serious.

"His fever is really high. He got home from school and threw up 4 times already" Will explained. "He just took a bath and his stomach hurts"

"We should go see a doctor" JJ said.

And to the ER they went.

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At the hospital they told them that Henry had a stomach bug but would soon be okay. They gave him some medicine and sent him home.  
The next day he skipped school and since JJ had taken time off of work she stayed with him while Will worked.  
At Emily's house, Maisy was heartbroken when Jennifer didn't show up again. The next day the same thing happened and she couldn't help but cry as those thoughts of being abandoned and never seeing JJ again filled her mind. Emily tried her best but Maisy just wanted JJ.  
Around 4, Emily took Maisy to the ice skating class and again the girl refused to go in. Emily told Jane why Maisy was so upset and Miss Jane felt really bad. She knew Emily was fostering the girl because that was on the papers but she didn't know about JJ.

"Maisy, Im sure Jennifer will see you soon" Jane said. "Come skate with us. Maybe you'll feel better" she tried but the girl wouldn't go.

Maisy didn't feel like doing anything and she was terrified that if she let go of Emily the woman would leave too.  
So that time Emily just said she would try again on Tuesday and left with the girl. They went to an ice cream place and around 5:30, they went to see the psychologist. Maisy was a little reluctant at first because she didn't want to leave Emily's side but Emily promised she would be right outside the door and gave Maisy her cellphone to hold. So the girl went in.  
After about 30 minutes, Emily paced back and forth. She hated doctors offices. Too small, not enough room to breathe. She checked her watch again. Still twenty more minutes. She groaned then sat back down. Maisy would be out soon she told herself. It was the girl's first therapy session. Emily knew she shouldn't be upset and nervous but the little girl was in the next room discussing the source of her nightmares and fears in detail. Of course Emily knew what happened to Maisy but she didn't know everything. She knew Maisy would be scared inside that room and all she wanted was to hold the child's hand but no, She had to sit in the waiting room, looking at paintings, and ignoring the secretary's glare every time she stood up impatiently.

.

As Emily checked her watch for the tenth time the office door opened and Maisy ran out not looking very happy.

"Hi!" Emily greeted as Maisy hugged her legs. The doctor followed the girl into the room.

"Maisy is good to go and her next appointment is next Monday. Is 10am good for you?" Dr. Walker asked and Emily nodded.

"How did it go?" Emily asked cautiously. Maisy grinned up at the doctor and took Emily's hand.

"She was fine. Right Maisy?" the doctor asked.

"Yes." The girl whispered pulling Emily to the door.

Even though Emily knew the laws with therapy she still wanted to know what happened behind those closed doors.  
"Do you have any concerns?" she asked the woman.

"No. She just started so we got to know each other a little bit. Talk about the basics, and then when Maisy is ready we will talk about the other things."

Emily smirked down at Maisy who was still going strong in her belief in leaving. Every so often Emily moved an inch towards the door.

Dr. Walker had to hide her smile watching the girl tugging the brunette out of the office.

"Guess we will see you next week." Emily smiled and let Maisy drag her out the door. They went to the elevator and Emily asked if Maisy was okay. The girl hugged her legs so Emily scooped her up.

"Let's go get a hamburger for dinner?" Emily smiled and Maisy nodded.

Soon they parked at McDonald's. They ate and headed back home. Emily sat to watch some tv with Maisy and around 8 she took the girl upstairs to shower. Emily stripped her down and suddenly Maisy held her tight and refused to get in the bathtub.

"Maisy, you were doing so good. It's okay. We'll be quick" Emily said.

"No bath" Maisy cried.

"Sweetheart you have to" Emily said. Maisy wouldn't let go so Emily turned the shower on and got in. Maisy immediately started crying and asking for JJ. No matter what Emily did, every time Maisy cried it was JJ she wanted.

So Emily took the girl out of the shower, dried her up, put her diaper on and took her to the bedroom to get dressed. Emily put her down to go get her pajamas and Maisy ran to the bed. She sobbed into her pillow and Emily's heart broke. She couldn't stand seeing Maisy so upset and knowing everything the girl had been through she just wanted to get JJ there so Maisy could feel better and feel safe.

Emily covered Maisy up.  
"I'll be right back, princess. Stay here with Buzz" Emily said and went downstairs. She grabbed her phone and called JJ. She couldn't stand seeing the girl so upset anymore.

"JJ you need to come see her. At least once every other day. She can't keep going like this. She won't stop crying" Emily said. "Bring Henry with you. I don't know. But this kid just wants you. No matter what I do she just wants you"

Jennifer couldn't help but cry. She desperately wanted to go stay with Maisy.

"I don't know what do to" JJ cried.  
Emily felt bad but JJ had to wake up. She needed to see if adopting Maisy was a real possibility or not because if not she had to stop promising things to the girl.

"Bring Henry with you, I don't know." Emily said. "I don't mind staying with her. I love her. For me she can stay here forever but she can't wait for you forever"

"I know" JJ said as tears streamed down her face. Suddenly Will walked in the room.  
"I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow" JJ said and hung up.

Emily went upstairs and laid down next to Maisy. The girl cuddled up to her and cried herself to sleep.

At JJ's house, Will froze when he saw how bad Jennifer was crying.  
"What's wrong?" He asked really worried.

"Nothing" JJ said laying down and turning to face the other side.

"Hey. Talk to me. We can't go on like this anymore" Will said walking to her side of the bed and sitting down. JJ sat up.  
"Is it the girl?" Will asked.

"Yes, it's the girl" JJ said sounding mad.

"You're really serious about this" Will said. JJ looked at him like he was stating the obvious.

"Really? You didn't think I was before" she said and got up and tried to leave but he grabbed her arm.

"Please let's talk" he said.

"There's nothing to talk Will. I can see you don't want another child" JJ said as tears kept streaming down her face.

"Maybe I want this child" he said and JJ looked at him surprised.

"Will, don't joke about this" JJ said.

"I'm not. Sit down" he said serious and she sat next to him. "I've been thinking and honestly I don't feel we are in the right moment for another child but I can't see you like this anymore." He said and JJ looked him in the eyes. "You don't talk to me, you cry every night in the bathroom. You think I don't see and I don't care but I do. I thought you just felt bad for her and I thought that she'd be okay there with Emily and that it would be fine. But..." he said and JJ looked down.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend you're okay when I can see you're not" he said.

"Since Henry got sick I only went there once and she's a mess" JJ said.

"Is that why Emily called?" Will asked.

"Yeah." JJ said. "She keeps crying and asking for me and.." she said as tears streamed down her face. "I love that kid Will, I can't stand knowing she's so upset and I'm not there with her"

Will nodded feeling bad.  
"I want to met her" he said and JJ looked up.

"It's not a yes, but I want to meet her. I need to meet her before we decide this" he said. "Okay?" He asked when he saw JJ was speechless.

"Okay" she said crying and hugged him. "Okay" she smiled breathing out relieved.


	23. Chapter 23: Hope

Emily woke up at 3:24AM to the cries and screams of Maisy. She knew it was normal for the girl to have nightmares but every time her heart broke for her. She just wanted to make them go away.

"Emi" Maisy cried opening her arms asking to be picked up.

Emily went and picked the girl up and walked around the room with the child's arms tightly wrapped around her neck.

"Shuuuu Its was just a bad dream" Emily kept saying.

After a while Maisy stopped sobbing.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked.

Maisy nodded still trying to catch her breath. Emily bent over placing Maisy on the bed. "I'm so sorry you are having these dreams." she said. "Do you want to tell me what they are about?" She asked cautiously not wanting to upset the girl.  
Maisy shook her head.  
"Are you sure?" Emily asked sitting on the bed next to the child.

"I want Jennifer" Maisy said and started crying again.

"Maisy" Emily said feeling bad and pulled the girl to her lap. Maisy kept asking for JJ and cried herself to sleep.

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Emily woke up again at 7:45, she made pancakes for breakfast hoping that would cheer Maisy up. When she was almost done, Maisy ran in the kitchen and hugged her legs. She was crying.  
Emily picked her up and ran circles on her back. "I'm right here. It's okay" she said and Maisy started calming down.  
"Look what I made for breakfast" Emily said proudly getting her plate of pancakes. She sat down with Maisy and they ate breakfast. Once done, Emily told Maisy to go change while she did the same. Maisy did as told and sat in her room with a book in hands.

Suddenly the door bell rang. Emily went downstairs and smiled big when she saw Jennifer and Henry standing there.

"Where's my monkey?" JJ smiled as her eyes filled with tears. Emily hugged her and said "come on in. She's upstairs"

They walked inside and JJ said "Will wants to meet her. So I thought she could have a little play date with Henry today"

Emily smiled.  
"How are you feeling buddy?" She asked he boy.

"Way better" he smiled. "I brought some games, do you think she'll want to play?" He told Emily.  
JJ and Will sat with Henry first thing that morning and told him about Maisy. They explained that she lost her parents and was staying with Emily for a while. JJ told him that Maisy loved her very much and Henry asked why didn't she stay with them then. JJ smiled and Will too. They felt good that Henry was totally fine with it.

"I think she'll love to" Emily smiled.

They went upstairs and Emily walked in first.  
"You have visitors" Emily told the girl who looked up.

JJ walked in and smiled. "Hi" she said.

Maisy threw the book on the floor and ran to her and just cried. Jennifer scooped her up and held her tight.

"You took so long again" Maisy cried.

"I'm right here now" JJ said feeling bad.

"She brought you a surprise" Emily smiled.  
Jennifer turned around and Maisy saw Henry.

"This is my son Henry. And Henry this is Maisy" JJ said.

"Hi" Henry smiled.

Maisy got shy and hid her face on JJ's hair. Henry let out a little laugh.

"She's a little shy, remember?" JJ told him.

"Maisy I brought some games. We could play together" he said and the women smiled.

"Yeah, why don't we go to the living room and play for a little while?" Emily suggested and they went downstairs.

Emily sat on the couch and Henry started setting up a game on the floor.

"Will you two play too?" Henry asked Emily.

"Sure" Prentiss said. They all sat around the board and started playing. In the beginning Maisy refused to get out of JJ's lap but as the game went on she started coming out of her shell. She started talking to Henry and giggling and soon she was sitting next to Jennifer while they played.  
Once the first game was done, Henry asked if Maisy wanted to play Connect4 and the girl said yes.

"This one is just two people. So we'll play together" he explained.

"Okay" Maisy said.

Emily and JJ smiled and went to sit on the couch. They watched the two blondes play and couldn't help but smile. It was like they were best friends already. JJ felt so good things were going great.  
Later around 1pm, they decided to take the kids out for lunch at the mall. JJ and Emily smiled as Henry took Maisy's hand and they walked side by side to the food court. They spent the afternoon at the mall and took the kids to the play place. Maisy and Henry were all giggles and JJ loved seeing her boy suddenly turn in to this protective big brother always making sure Maisy was okay.  
Around 4:30, they headed back to Emily's apartment and sat to watch a movie. While the kids watched it, Emily and JJ went to the kitchen and Emily told JJ everything that had happened in the last few days while they cooked. JJ told Emily about her conversation with Will and they scheduled a picnic at the park so Will could finally meet Maisy.  
They ate Mac and cheese for dinner, which the kids loved, and then it was time to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow" JJ told Maisy and the girl looked down, scared it would take a long time to see Jennifer again. JJ got down on the child's level and said "I promise, Maisy"

Maisy nodded and hugged her. JJ gave her a bunch of kisses and said "behave"  
Maisy nodded again and wiped a little tear that escaped.

"Bye Maisy" Henry said giving her a hug.

"Bye" Maisy said and they left. As soon as Emily closed the door Maisy hugged her legs and the tears just fell. Emily scooped her up.

"she really coming tomorrow?" The little girl asked.

"Yes and we're going to the park together" Emily said.

"Promise?" Maisy asked.

"Yes I promise." Emily smiled and kissed Maisy's cheek. She carried the girl to the couch and told her the plans for the picnic. Maisy was a little nervous when Emily told her that she would be meeting JJ's husband at the park.

"What if he doesn't like me?" Maisy asked as her eyes filled with tears. Emily pulled the child to her lap and said...

"I think he's going to love you" she smiled.


	24. Chapter 24: Meeting Will

That night at JJ's house she sat with Will to have some dinner and told him everything about the day. He smiled as she went on and on about how well it went. He wasn't sure about adding a new member to the family but he absolutely loved seeing Jennifer so happy.

"I can't wait to meet her tomorrow" he said and JJ smiled.

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The next morning, JJ took Henry to Emily's house at 9am. Will had a meeting so he would meet them at the park around 1pm.  
Maisy was all smiles when Jennifer arrived.

"You came!" The little said as she ran to JJ's arms.

They played all morning and at 12, Emily said they should get ready.

"Go change and I'll take care of this monkey girl" JJ smiled and tickled Maisy who giggled. She carried the girl upstairs, while Henry watched tv, and picked out an outfit for her.

"Come on, let's get these pretty clothes on you, pretty girl" JJ smiled but Maisy didn't. "What's wrong?" JJ asked and Maisy looked down. She was scared.

"Hey" JJ said lifting up the girl's chin. "What's with the sad face?" She asked.

"What if he doesn't like me?" Maisy said and tears started rolling.

JJ put the clothes on the bed and picked the girl up. She sat down with Maisy on her lap.

"He will, baby" JJ said.

"I wanna stay with you" Maisy cried.

"I know." JJ said. "Calm down. We're going to talk to him, okay?" She said and wiped Maisy's face.

"Is he nice?" Maisy asked.

"Yes, he's really really nice. And I know he's going to love you." JJ said. "Okay?" She smiled. "Let's get you dressed" she said and put Maisy down on the floor and did just that.

"There you go." JJ smiled at how cute Maisy looked.

"Can you do my hair?" Maisy asked in such a sweet little voice that JJ's heart melted.

"Of course I can" JJ said and pulled the girl to her tickling her stomach. Maisy giggled and JJ carried her to the bathroom. She made pig tails and carried Maisy downstairs.

"Oh God. She looks adorable" Emily said as JJ put Maisy down and the girl ran to sit with Henry.

"She's scared" JJ said.

"I know. She was scared yesterday too." Emily said. "She's scared he won't like her"

JJ gave her a sad smile. "I'm praying he will" JJ said.

"How can't he?" Emily smiled as Maisy and Henry ran to them holding hands.

"Can we go?" Henry asked.

"We sure can" JJ said. Emily got the picnic bag and they headed to the car. Emily buckled Maisy on her car seat and they headed to the park.

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As they walked to the open areas where people usually had picnics, Maisy couldn't help but feel really nervous. She let go of Henry's hand and grabbed JJ's.

"Come here" JJ said and picked her up.

Soon they found Will.

"Daddy!" Henry ran to him. "You came" the boy said excited to have a picnic with everybody.

Emily and JJ got there and Maisy hid her face on JJ's neck. Will smiled, he had to admit the girl was absolutely adorable.

"This must be Maisy" Will said touching the girl's back and she pushed herself into JJ.

"She's a little shy" JJ said.

"Well, I got a present for the shy girl" Will said holding a pink bag out. He really wanted things to work.

"Look Maisy. You got a gift!" Henry said and Maisy looked at him. When she saw Will she hid again.

"Why don't we set up everything and sit so she can open it?" Emily suggested and they did that. Everyone sat and JJ sat with Maisy on her lap.

"Here" Will said handing the bag to his wife.

"Do you want me open it for you?" JJ asked the girl and Maisy nodded shyly. Jennifer opened and pulled out an Olaf plush.

"Look it's Olaf" JJ smiled. "I like warm hugs" she said and put the plush on Maisy's tummy like a hug. The girl giggled and everyone smiled.

"What do you say?" JJ asked her.

"Thank you" Maisy said really low and still refusing to look at him. Will smiled.

"You're welcome" he said.

"So let's eat?" Emily asked.

"I want a hotdog!" Henry said really excited.

"How about you?" Will asked Maisy who shyly hid on JJ's chest. "Do you want one too?" He asked her and she nodded yes.

Everyone got something to eat and started talking about things. Will really tried to get Maisy to talk to him but she didn't really talk much. She would just nod or shrug. But then Henry said he wanted to play on the playground close by and Will said he'd take him.

"Do you want to go?" He asked Maisy. She shook her head no. She definitely wouldn't leave JJ and Emily's side. So Will took Henry. As Maisy watched them play together and laugh she let out a smile and Emily saw. She signed Maisy to JJ and the woman smiled as she watched the girl's face. Maisy had never seen a father play with his kids like that.

"So do you like him?" JJ asked and Maisy hid shyly.

"You do?!" JJ said and started tickling Maisy. The girl started to giggle and Will watched from the playground near by with a big smile on his face. JJ was so happy and Maisy looked so happy too. It was feeling so right.

"Do you like her Henry?" Will asked his son.

"Yeah" Henry said.

"What do you think of her living with us?"

"Like a sister?" Henry asked.

"Yeah" Will said.

"Yeah!" Henry smiled and Will smiled back.

"Is she?" Henry asked.

"We'll see" Will said.

After playing for a while they went back to the picnic. Maisy was playing with her Olaf and was now sitting next to JJ. Will sat next to her and she moved closer to Jennifer.

"Who wants cookies?" JJ asked.

"Me!" The kids said in unison and everyone laughed.

They ate and talked and soon Maisy's leg was touching Will's and she didn't even notice or seemed to care. Will signed so JJ could see that they were close and JJ smiled.

"Can I have juice please?" Maisy asked JJ. For the first time her voice was normal. Will got a box of apple juice, opened it and handed to Maisy.

"Thank you" she said. Will smiled and for the first time he could see a little smile on the girl's face.

"Oh I see a smile" he said and she tried to hide. "I saw it! Don't hide" Will said laughing and Maisy let out a giggle.

The rest of the picnic went great. Will talked to Maisy about the food and the park and even Emily's house and her bedroom. The girl was talking normally now and JJ and Emily couldn't be happier.

"Dad, can we get ice cream?" Henry asked when he saw the stand.

"Sure" Will smiled. "Go pick one" he said and Henry ran off. Will got up but Maisy didn't move. "Come on, let's go pick one" Will told her. Maisy didn't know if she should go or not. Her father never gave her ice cream, her parents never bought anything for her when they were out.

"Go on Maisy. We'll be right here" Emily said.

Will held out his hand and Maisy stood up and took it. They walked to the stand and Henry had chosen strawberry.  
"So what do you want?" Will asked the girl, she shrugged. "Come look" he said ready to pick her up but she moved away.

"No" she said scared.

JJ and Emily saw and it was like their hearts stopped.

Will went down and calmly said "I was going to pick you up so you could see what flavors they have"

Maisy just stood there thinking. She saw how he was good with Henry and JJ loved him, she thought he as very nice but she was scared too.

"Can I pick you up? I'm not going to hurt you, monkey" Will said softly.

Maisy thought for a moment and nodded. Will picked her up and placed her on his hip. The girl was stif in his arms.  
"Which one do you want?" He asked.

JJ and Emily breathed out relieved and JJ smiled glad he managed the situation.

Maisy looked around and chose a chocolate one covered with nuts and sprinkles.

"Do you like those?" Will asked pointing to the nuts.

Maisy thought for a while and she didn't know the answer, she chose that one because it looked good. "Can I just have chocolate?" She asked.

"Sure" Will laughed. The man handed him the chocolate one and he put Maisy down.  
"Go sit with Henry" he said and the kids went to the picnic.

"May I have this one" Will said and the man made a cone with the chocolate, sprinkles and nuts one. He payed and walked back. He took his spot next to Maisy and said "here, I got that one. Why don't you try and see if you like it?" He said scooping some for her. She shyly let him feed her the ice cream.

"Is it good?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.

"Wanna trade?" Will said. She thought and smiled. So they traded ice cream cones.  
Maisy happily ate hers and soon they were done.

"It's getting late." Will said. "And I have a meeting in like an hour" he added.

"Yeah. I guess we should go" JJ said. "My car is at Emily's"

"Go with them. I'll meet you later tonight at home" he said and JJ nodded.

They gathered everything up and said goodbye to Will.

"I loved to meet you, Maisy" Will said to the girl who was hugging JJ's leg.

Maisy smiled shyly.

"Will I see you sometime?" He asked and she nodded. "And take care of Olaf" he said and she smiled and held her toy tight.

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At Emily's house, the kids sat to watch tv while the grownups talked.

"That was nothing like I thought it would be" JJ said.

"She did so good" Emily said proudly.

JJ nodded.

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They watched some tv and at 6, JJ and Henry left.

"I'll see you soon" JJ said.

"Tomorrow?" Maisy asked hopeful.

"Tomorrow" JJ said and Maisy smiled and hugged her legs. JJ picked her up and gave her cheek a bunch of kisses. "Have a good night monkey" she said and Maisy giggled.

That night things went better at the Prentiss home. Emily was happy when Maisy showered without fighting or tears. She got the girl ready for bed and tucked her in.

"Anything go get me" Emily said and kissed Maisy's forehead. "Goodnight"

Maisy hugged Buzz and soon fell asleep.

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At JJ's house the mood was light as a feather. She felt so happy that Will finally got the chance to meet the girl and she couldn't wait for him to get home to talk about it all.  
Around 8:30, she tucked Henry in and sat to watch some tv. Will got home at 9.

"How was it?" JJ asked as he took the spot next to her on the couch.

"There's just so much to do" he said. "We don't get a break in this city"

"Yeah" JJ said.

There was an awkward silence. Will just sat there and then suddenly said "go ahead ask"

JJ smiled and turned to face him.  
"What did you think?" She asked hopeful.

"She's adorable" he said. "And I loved seeing her play with Henry"

JJ smiled. Suddenly he looked serious.  
"There's a but, isn't there?" JJ said just knowing.

"She was scared of me" Will said. "When I went to pick her up to chose the ice cream. She wasn't shy, she was scared" he said worried.

"It's just hard for her. But she liked you" JJ said.

"But what if she comes here and she's terrified of me?" He asked.

Jennifer knew he had a point. She couldn't deny that she was scared of that too.

"She's been through a lot JJ." Will said and JJ looked down.

"She needs us" he said and she looked up surprised and slightly confused.

"She needs us but we can't just bring her home." He explained. "I think that would be chaotic and irresponsible."

"So what do we do?" JJ asked.

"Umm" Will took a moment to think. "You and Emily will be back at work on Wednesday right?" He asked and JJ nodded.

"We'll stay in the city though" JJ said.

"Maisy could maybe stay with our nanny while we work, So she'll get used to the house and Henry. I'll get home earlier and she'll stay with me for like an hour till you guys get here at 6:30"

"Yeah that could help" JJ agreed.

"Do you want to try that then?" Will asked.

"Yes of course" JJ said and Will nodded.  
"So is that a yes?" She asked him hopeful.

"Yes... but let's see how she'll do" he said and JJ hugged him.

"I love you" she said.

"I love you too" Will said and they kissed.  
They stopped and stared at each other. JJ smiled.  
"I love you" she said again and Will laughed.


	25. Chapter 25: Scared To Dream

That Sunday morning JJ took Henry to play with Maisy again at Emily's house. In there JJ told Emily about her conversation with Will and both women were happy about how things were going now.

"I was wondering what you'll do once you have to go to work?" JJ asked Emily.

"I was thinking of asking Carrie to watch her. They've met and Maisy seemed okay around her and her girls." Emily said. Carrie was her neighbor that had 2 daughters. She was a stay at home mom and always offered to help Emily with anything.

"I was wondering if she could stay at my house. With Abby" JJ said. "So she'll get used to the place and the nanny"

"Of course" Emily smiled.

"It was Will's idea" JJ smiled.

"I can see he really wants to make this work" Emily said.

"Yeah" JJ said. "Do you think that will help? Her staying at my house"

"I think so. Abby is amazing with Henry and I'm sure Maisy will like her" Emily said.

So they arranged everything and decided to talk to Maisy about it. The girl was scared when she learned that Emily had to go to work soon. But the thought of staying with Henry at Jennifer's house sounded okay for her.

"But you'll come back?" Maisy asked them.

"Yeah. We'll be back at night" JJ told the child.

"She always comes back Maisy. And we'll have fun" Henry said making the two women smile.

"Is Abby nice?" Maisy asked with a sad face. She was scared.

"Yes, she's really really nice. Right Henry?" JJ said and the boy agreed.

"She'll stop by tomorrow to meet you" Emily said.

Maisy was a little scared but liked the idea of staying with Henry. JJ and Emily talked about the kids's schedules and then just hung out watching a movie with them.  
Around 1, they ate lunch and then the kids went upstairs to play. Maisy sat on her bed with a book while Henry read one on the floor. Soon the small child drifted to sleep.

"Mommy, Maisy fell asleep" Henry said as he walked in the living room.

"Did she sleep okay last night?" JJ asked Emily.

"Yeah" Emily said. "It was alright"

"She must be tired from playing too much, baby" JJ told Henry and he sat on the couch with her.

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Around 3:30 Maisy started kicking around on her bed and suddenly a scream came out.

"No! Please!" The girl cried and screamed in her sleep.

Downstairs everyone listened.

"Stay here" JJ told Henry. The boy nodded and Emily and JJ sprinted.  
They got to Maisy's bedroom and found the girl squirming and screaming.

"Oh god, Maisy" JJ said feeling bad as they ran to the bed.

Suddenly Maisy opened her eyes.  
"NO!" Maisy screamed and threw herself into JJ's arms. Jennifer hugged her back tight and sat down on the bed with the girl laying on her chest and stroke her back.

"Babygirl what happened? What's wrong?" JJ said in a worried voice. Emily sat down next to them.

"B-Bad d-dweam" Maisy blubbered in her adorable kid voice.

"Can you tell me about it?" JJ asked. Maisy whimpered and shook her head. She buried her face into JJ's chest.

"C'mon baby, no one is going to hurt you, we're here." JJ said.

Maisy shook her head and whispered "Not me. You."

"Oh babygirl, Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere." JJ said.

Maisy just hugged JJ tighter. She had a horrible horrible dream.

"Can you tell me about your bad dream?" Emily asked.

Maisy shook her head no.

"We just want to help" Emily said. "What you dreamed is not true, princess. It was just a nightmare. It isn't real" Emily said.

Maisy looked at her and said. "They... they were hurting you and Jennifer. H-Hitting you..." Maisy trailed off and started crying again.

"Maisy, you are never going to be hurt by them again i promise. There is no way they can touch you again. Or us. I promise you that" Jennifer said.

"We promise" Emily said. Maisy sniffled and snuggled into JJ. "We won't let anyone hurt you" she said and Maisy gave her a little nod.

"We love you so much, Maisy." JJ said rigging her arms around the girl.

Maisy sniffed and said "I love you too".

Emily smiled and Maisy gave her a little smile.

"Let's go downstairs and watch some tv?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded so to the living room they went.

"Is she okay?" Henry asked when they got there.

"She's alright. It was just a bad dream" JJ told him. She sat down on the couch next to Henry and they watched tv.  
As the day went on, Maisy refused to leave JJ's side and Jennifer knew that going home would be bad. So at 6 she took a deep breath and told Emily and Maisy that she had to go. Of course Maisy cried but that time she calmed down quite fast as Emily walked around rubbing circles on her back. The rest of the night went okay, they had dinner and watched cartoons together. Shower was hard but Maisy didn't take long to calm down. That night she wanted Emily to stay in her room. She was still scared her parents would go there to get her back.

"Of course I'll stay" Emily said snuggling the girl up.

"I'm scared" Maisy said. "Of bad dreams" she added.

"They are not real Maisy. And when you wake up I'll be right here next to you" Emily said and Maisy hid her face on her chest. Soon both were sleeping.

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The next morning Emily was excited to see Maisy meeting Abby. She knew the woman and she was super nice. She knew Maisy would be scared but soon would warm up to the lady.  
The day started great. Emily made pancakes and they happily ate together. Then Emily got Maisy ready to go to the psychologist and at that appointment their day took a turn. The Doctor decided it was time to see what Maisy understood and saw as a family, and that was when the girl's behavior changed. Maisy didn't mind talking to the Doctor but when she asked her to draw her family Maisy felt sick. She didn't know what to draw.

"You can draw anything you want." The Doctor said but Maisy put the crayon down and refused to look at the woman.  
"Why don't you draw your sister?"

Maisy's eyes filled with tears. She missed Julie so much.

"Do you feel sad to talk about Julie, sweetheart?"

"Yes" Maisy cried.

"It's okay to be upset and feel sad" the woman explained. There was a minute of silence and then she said "does it make you feel sad that she's not with you?"

Maisy nodded.

"Do you wish she was?"

Maisy nodded again but refused to look up.

"How about your brother?"

"I miss him too" Maisy said.

"And do you miss your parents?" She asked.

Maisy thought for a while and shook her head no.

"Are you sure?"

Suddenly Maisy felt really scared.  
"Please don't take me to them. Please" she cried and backed away from the lady.

"No. I'm not taking you anywhere" the Doctor said. "We're just talking. It's okay" she said trying to calm the girl.

"I want Emily" Maisy cried. "I want emi" she sobbed now.

The Doctor tried to change the subject but Maisy wasn't having any of it. She didn't want to draw other things or play with the doll house or any toys. She was definitely crying and asking for Emily and Jennifer. So the Doctor decided to end the session sooner.

"Alright. Let's go see Emily" she said handing out a hand to Maisy. The girl took it and followed the woman to the door. When Maisy saw Emily sitting in the waiting room she ran to her and just sobbed. Emily held the girl tight and had a confused look on her face.

"What happened?" She asked the Doctor.

"We took a big step today and she wasn't quite ready for it" the woman said feeling bad that the small child was crying so much.

"Parents?" Emily mouthed so Maisy wouldn't hear and the Doctor nodded.

"She'll be alright. Right Maisy?" Emily said but the girl just cried. "Let's go home" she said.

"I'll see you next Monday at 6?"

"Yes" Emily said and left with the crying girl in her arms. She buckled Maisy up and headed home.

Six minutes into the ride home, Maisy was still sobbing. Emily tried to calm her down by talking to her about her toys and Henry but nothing was helping. She had never seen the girl cry so much for such a long time.  
Soon Emily parked the car at her building and stopped the engine, she got out and went to Maisy's side and unbuckled her from her seat. Emily picked the girl up and right when she set Maisy on my hip the girl clung closer into her. She was shaking so bad. Emily kissed the top of Maisy's head and rubbed her back while walking to the elevator.  
"It's okay. We're home now" Emily told the girl.  
Soon they got to their floor. Emily unlocked the door and closed it right behind her. Maisy looked scared as hell and kept a tight grip on Emily's shirt.  
They got inside the apartment and Emily placed the girl on the couch and wrapped her up in a soft warm grey blanket.  
Emily's heart broke to see the little girl like that. She looked just as terrified as when they first met.  
Emily closed all the curtains and sat next to Maisy on the couch pulling the little one into her lap.

"Maisy, I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you." Emily said and Maisy shook her head and just broke down. Big fat tears streamed down her cheeks. She missed her sister and brother so much and She was so scared. She couldn't stop thinking that her bad parents would come back for her soon and all those bad dreams would become true.

Emily combed her fingers trough Maisy's hair and rocked her little.  
"cry it all out, baby... everything is going to be alright... I'm here" Emily said.

After a little while they just sat there in silence. Maisy looked really tired but she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Maisy, it's okay" Emily said. "you can sleep"

"W-will y-you hold m-me the w-wh-ole t-time?" She said with hiccups in between, still crying. She was scared of the bad dreams.

"I will, I promise". Emily said.

Maisy rested her head on Emily's chest. Emily picked up the remote and turned the tv on. She leaned back a little and let the girl sleep. After a while she closed her eyes as well.

Two hours had passed and Maisy jumped awake.

"I'm right here. It's okay" Emily said as she instantly stood up and started rocking the girl. "It was just a bad dream. It's not real" Emily kept repeating. Soon she realized she was a bit wet and she knew exactly what had happened.

"Let's get cleaned up" Emily said and carried Maisy upstairs. Emily prepared a bath for Maisy but the tiny one didn't want to go in so Emily just got inside with her. She placed the crying kid on her arms and rubbed her back for her to calm down.  
"It's okay sweetie. It's alright".

Maisy didn't stop crying. She was hugging Emily really tight, she was so sad and scared. Emily's heart sank. She kept telling Maisy that everything was okay because she figured that's what parents did. She wasn't sure if that would help but she kept saying it over and over.  
After a while Maisy cried herself to sleep. So Emily got out of the bathtub and carried the girl to the bed. She laid Maisy down and quickly changed her clothes and got back and put pajamas on Maisy who just moved a little. Emily covered the girl up and then left Maisy on her bed while she dried the mess she had made on the floor and in the bathroom. Soon she went back in the room and decided to stay with the girl. She sat next to Maisy on the bed and worked on some paperwork she had to do.

Around 1, Emily decided to cook lunch. So she headed downstairs and made some chicken, rice and veggies. She woke Maisy up to eat. The girl was embarrassed about the accident and Emily just knew.

"Hey. It happens. It's okay" Emily told her and Maisy hid on Emily's neck as Emily carried her downstairs. Emily placed the girl on the chair and they ate together.

"Can we watch movie?" Maisy asked shyly.

"Of course we can" Emily smiled and carried the girl to the living room. There they stayed till 3, when suddenly someone rang the intercom.

"I'll be right back" Emily told Maisy and went to answer. It was Abby, Henry's nanny. She went up and soon Emily was at the door waiting for her.

"Come on in" Emily greeted.

The woman walked inside and said "where's the little one?"

Emily walked to the living room with her.  
"Abby this is Maisy" she smiled. Maisy looked at the woman and hid her face on the arm of the couch. She thought Abby looked nice. She was shorter than Emily, and looked really young and had a pretty ginger hair. Maisy had never seen hair like that before.

"Let's sit down" Emily smiled and they sat. Emily next to Maisy and Abby on the other couch.

Emily pulled Maisy to her lap and said "it's Abby honey. Remember we talked about her?"

Maisy just hid on her chest.

"She had quite a hard morning" Emily explained and Abby gave her a sad smile. Jennifer had told her everything about the girl.

"Well, Henry told me that you like to play games so I brought this one and I was thinking that maybe we could play" Abby said thinking it could be a good way to bond.

"Oh look Maisy" Emily said trying to sound excited. "Let's play?" She asked and the little one nodded.

Emily sat on the floor with the girl on her lap and they started to play. Maisy soon warmed up to Abby.

"I'm gonna get some water. Would you like some?" Emily asked Abby.

"Yes please" Abby smiled. "How about you little one?" Abby asked Maisy and she nodded.

Emily put Maisy down and went to get it.

"Let's play again?" Abby asked and Maisy said yes.

Emily watched them from the kitchen and was happy it was going great. Abby spent the afternoon there and left around 6. They had a great time. Maisy really liked her and had fun playing games and dolls with her.

"So I'll see you in two days" Abby smiled as she hugged little Maisy goodbye.

"See you" Maisy said and ran to Emily's arms. They said their goodbyes and soon Abby left.

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The next day, Tuesday, Emily was really happy when JJ showed up. They hung out with Maisy and JJ left at 3 to get Henry. Soon Emily drove Maisy to her ice skating class and she couldn't be happier when Maisy seemed excited to go.

"Look who's smiling today" miss Jane said when she saw them. Maisy was walking holding Emily's hand and she looked excited.  
"Are you going to skate with us today?" Jane asked and Maisy nodded. "You are? Really?!" She cheered.

"Yes" Maisy said shyly and Jane and Emily couldn't help but smile.

Emily helped the girl get ready and soon she was on the ice. The class went great and Maisy loved it.

"I'll see you on Thursday, Miss Maisy" Jane waved goodbye.

"Bye" Maisy yelled as they walked outside. Emily and Jane laughed.


	26. Chapter 26: Back At Work

Soon Wednesday came.  
Emily didn't know if she was ready to go to work and leave Maisy but she knew it had to happen. The morning went by so fast that when she pushed through the BAU glass doors Emily felt exhausted. Between getting herself ready and getting Maisy ready to go to JJ's house she had already consumed three cups of coffee. On top of all dropping Maisy at JJ's was difficult to say the least. JJ decided to leave early so Maisy wouldn't cry and ask her to stay home. Emily felt glad when she found out but it just made the girl more upset.

When Emily parked her car in front of JJ's house the small girl was understandably nervous. Will and Abby were there waiting for her.

"Come on in. Let's see the house" Will said.

Maisy hid behind Emily scared so Emily scooped her up. Will showed them the house and then said he had to take Henry to school and go to work.

"Yeah I should get going too" Emily said placing Maisy on the couch next to Abby.

"No!" Maisy said and grabbed Emily's shirt.

"It's okay Maisy. You'll play with Abby and Henry will come back soon" Emily explained.

"No. Don't leave" Maisy said.

"Maisy, we've talked about this. I have to go to work today. I'll be back later" Emily said and Maisy hugged her and started crying.

"First days are hard Em. She'll cry but she'll be okay" Will said feeling bad. "She'll start playing and she'll be alright."

"Look Maisy. I got a movie so we can watch" Abby tried but Maisy wasn't having any of it.

"I gotta go Maisy" Emily said feeling bad.

"No" Maisy cried.

Emily signed for Abby to take the girl and when the woman touched Maisy the sobbing started. Maisy held on tight to Emily as Abby tried to take her away. She started screaming begging for Emily not to leave. Emily walked out the door with tears in her eyes. She felt awful.

"She'll be okay" Will told her. "Kids usually cry on first days"

Emily nodded. She knew it was true and she was expecting that to happen to Maisy but she sure wasn't ready.

.

When She arrived at the BAU, JJ was the first to spot the brunette walking in. She squealed and ran from her office to Emily's desk faster than Morgan when he's chasing a un-sub. From the noise JJ made the rest of the crew looked up, smiles erupted on their faces. They already knew the big step they were taking that day.

"Hey guys." Emily smiled and walked to her desk, placed her bags down and hugged a giddy JJ. Reid nodded; too engrossed in his work to stop and Morgan smiled with a "Morning Princess" as he hurried to finish the file he was currently working on.

"How was she?" JJ asked finding a seat on top of Emily's desk. Everyone had been waiting to hear.

"I won't lie. It was hard. " Emily said as she sat down in her chair. She was prepared for the interrogation to start.

"What happened?" JJ asked worried.

"She didn't want me to leave and there were tears and everything" Emily said feeling bad.

"Was she excited to go though?" asked Morgan as he turned his chair to face the ladies.

"Umm... not really. She was nervous at home and asked to stay but I explained I had to work. She seemed nervous but fine... but as soon as I went to say goodbye she cried."

"She'll be okay. It's just because it's the first day." Morgan said. "Little kids usually cry on the first day"

JJ nodded. She hated to remember the day she took Henry to a daycare for the first time. She cried and the director of the daycare had to help her outside. She was so embarrassed she sent Will to pick him up that afternoon.  
"And are _you_ Okay?" JJ asked Emily.

"Yeah. I'll be fine" Emily smiled. "But is it weird that I feel this desperate need to call and check on her" Emily said and they laughed.

"Anyways how's work? Any cases?" Emily wanted to get her mind off a little and focus on some work.

"Yeah, we just got back yesterday from New Jersey. An arsonist but we got him rather fast." Reid replied. "The local PD called us in after two fires which helped. Did you know..." he was cut off by their grim looking unit chief walking out of his office.

"Prentiss, a word please." Hotch waved her over then went back to his desk.

"Guess I better go." Emily smiled and headed off. When she entered his office Hotch was standing by the desk. She wasn't sure if she should be afraid or not. "What's up?" she asked cautiously.

"How was your time off?" he watched her take a seat across from himself.

"It was good. Thanks for letting me take it. I heard about the last case. Reid said you got him fast though." She said as Hotch went to sit.

"Thankfully we did" he said.

Emily wasn't sure why he wanted to talk to her so she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No. no. It's just that JJ informed me she's not leaving the city till things are settled with Maisy so I wanted to know if you're doing that too. Because honestly If I'm going to be two agents down I want to be ready for that" he explained.

"I would like to... If that's possible" Prentiss said.

"Alright" Hotch said. "You and Jennifer can work from here with Garcia. But please be back as soon as possible"

"Of course" Emily said and went out.

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 _ **At Jennifer's house...**_

Maisy just sobbed when Emily left.

"She'll be back soon. It's okay" Abby kept repeating as she walked around the living room with the crying girl in her arms.

After some time Maisy started to calm down and Abby offered to bake cookies to distract the child.  
"Do you want to help me? We can make chocolate chip ones" she said.

"Okay" Maisy said still crying a little.

Abby took her to the kitchen and placed her on the counter. She got the ingredients and as they made the cookies Maisy calmed down and soon stopped crying.  
When Abby put them in the oven, Emily called to check on the girl. Prentiss was happy to hear she was doing okay now. She happily told JJ and they went back to working feeling good that Maisy was okay.

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The day at JJ's house went okay. Maisy loved baking and watching movies with Abby. At 3:30 they picked Henry up and the kids had fun playing games all afternoon. At 5, Will got home and as expected Maisy cried when Abby said she had to go. Will tried to pick her up and Maisy sprinted off and hid in Henry's bedroom. So Will asked the nanny to wait for Jennifer and Emily and of course she agreed. So Abby went to the boy's bedroom and managed to get Maisy out from under the bed. They sat in the living room and soon Maisy calmed down and went back to playing with Henry. As She played she kept checking to see if Abby was still there. Will made hamburgers for dinner because JJ told him Maisy loved it. So they sat to eat.

"Are they good Maisy?" Abby asked as the girl ate her hamburger happily.

"Yes" Maisy said with food in her mouth making everyone laugh.

"Did you know that Will made them?" Abby asked.

"Daddy makes the best burgers in the world" Henry said.

"He did?" Maisy asked in disbelief.

"Yes" Will smiled and she gave him a shy smile back.

Dinner was going really well till Maisy got full and started talking to Henry instead of eating.

"Less talking more eating, kids" Abby said.

Maisy ate another French fry and felt a little sick. She was so full. She ate one more and said she didn't want more.

"You have to finish your plate. Just three more and then you're done" Abby said.

Maisy looked down and her heart started racing. The fear of Abby making her finish the plate or punishing her for not eating was too much. 

**Flashback - Maisy's POV**  
" _Stop! Please Mommy! No more!" I begged as mommy smacked my butt. It was really red and hurting so much. "I'll eat. I'll do it" I cried. I didn't like the food she made and she got really mad because I wouldn't eat. She kept smacking it really hard as I begged her to stop. She suddenly stared to smack my thighs and I couldn't help it and screamed and started kicking. Mommy held my legs with hers and kept hitting me. Once she was done she pulled my underwear and leggings up and said "go sit at the table now and finish your dinner". I walked to my sit and ate it all even though I felt like I was going to throw up."_  
 **End of flashback.**

"Maisy. It's just three more" Abby said.

Maisy started crying.  
"Don't hurt me" she cried.

"No honey. We'll never hurt you" Abby said.

"Are you full? You don't have to eat anymore then" Will said walking to her. He kneed down in front of her and she moved away from him.  
"Hey. It's okay. Are you all done?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Alright then." He smiled.

Maisy just sat there unsure of what to think. She couldn't believe they didn't mind. She was certain that they would punish her.

Will noticed her face and said "Maisy, you don't have to be scared. We won't hurt you."

She looked down.

"We never ever hurt Henry and we'll never ever hurt you" he said.

"Promise?" Maisy asked.

"I promise." He said. The small girl stood up and went to his arms. He lifted her up and she cried into his neck.

"You're safe here, Maisy" Will told her rubbing circles on her back. Maisy rested her head on his shoulder and soon drifted off to sleep. It sure had been a long day.

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At 6:45, Emily and JJ arrived to find Maisy asleep on the couch as Henry and Will played " _operation_ " on the floor.

"She's sleeping?" JJ asked really surprised. She was certain she would walk in to chaos.

"Yeah and She's okay" Will said.

"She did pretty good" Abby said.

"Then why are you still here?" JJ asked making a face. She knew something happened.

"Well..." Will started.

He explained everything that happened and Abby also told them how the day went. Emily and Jennifer were glad that it actually went better than they had thought it would.

"I think tomorrow it's important to try to get her to stay just with Will and Henry. She was scared when I said I was leaving" Abby said.

"Yeah. She needs to see she's safe just with you" Emily said.

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So the next day that's what they tried.  
In the morning Maisy was upset again. She cried when Emily left but it wasn't as bad as the day before. Abby managed to get her to calm down quickly after offering to read books to her. They spent the morning at Henry's room reading books. They ate lunch and watched a movie and soon it was time to pick Henry up from school. Abby noticed how Maisy seemed like another child around the boy. She was more confident and talkative.  
Around 4 they went to the ice rink. Henry had hockey class and Maisy ice skating. The kids had a lot of fun and Maisy was excited for miss Jane to meet Henry. The girl introduced him as her best friend and Jane and Abby smiled at how cute they were. They got back home at 5 and Will was already there. Maisy was reluctant when Abby said she had to go but she didn't cry.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Abby said and hugged the girl goodbye. She left and Maisy sat on the couch looking a bit sad and nervous.

"Maisy and Henry! Come in the kitchen, please" Will said loudly from the kitchen.

Henry grabbed the girl's hand.  
"Let's go. Daddy's calling" he said. Maisy shook her head no.

"I'll hold your hand" Henry said when he saw Maisy was scared. The girl stood up and followed him to the kitchen. When they got there Will noticed tears in Maisy's eyes and he knew something was wrong.

"What happened Maisy?" He asked kneeing down in front of the girl. Maisy looked down. "Hey" he said lifting her chin up and she looked at him. "I brought pizza for you guys. That sad face is not a face from a pizza night"

Maisy looked surprised and slightly confused. She felt scared that now that they were alone he would be mean like her dad. She thought he was going to be mad at her that she was almost crying.

Will smiled and said "do you like pepperoni or just cheese?"

"I want cheese daddy" Henry said and pulled Maisy to the table so they could sit.

Maisy ate her pizza and couldn't help but look at Will from time to time. She was wondering how he could be so different from her dad.

Two slices in, Emily and JJ walked in.

"Mommy!" Henry said excited. JJ hugged him and then hugged Maisy.

"Wow you guys got special dinner" Emily said with a smile.

"Feel free to join" Will said and Emily and JJ got a slice.

They ate and soon Emily said she should probably head home.  
"Let's go?" She asked Maisy and Maisy looked down sad.

JJ smiled. "You don't want to leave?" She asked thinking the girl had fun with Will and Henry and wanted to stay because of that.

"You just got here" Maisy said with tears in her eyes. And they all saw that it had nothing to do with Will and Henry.

JJ picked Maisy up. "I'll see you tomorrow. I promise" JJ said.

"I wanna stay with you" Maisy said on the verge of tears.

Emily picked her up from JJ's arms and the girl started crying.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, monkey girl" JJ said placing a kiss on Maisy's temple. The kid was so upset that she didn't even look up to say goodbye to anyone. Emily carried her out and they headed home. When she parked the car the kid was fast asleep.

At JJ's house they felt bad for the way Maisy left.

"Maybe we can try a sleepover soon" Will said. JJ nodded and smiled.

"How was it today?" She asked him.

"It was good. She was scared but we handled it" Will said and told her everything about it.


	27. Chapter 27: A Night At The LaMontagne's

The next day went well. Maisy seemed more comfortable at JJ's house and had a fun day. At work JJ told Emily about a sleepover and Emily was thrilled everything was working great. When JJ and Emily arrived at JJ's house Will was playing "the game of life" with the kids.

"How are my blondes doing?" JJ asked walking in.

"Good! We're playing with daddy" Henry said.

The women sat and once the game was over Maisy ran to JJ's arms.  
"How's my big girl doing?" JJ asked.

"Good" Maisy smiled.

"Well, miss Maisy, would you like to have a sleepover here tonight?" JJ asked. Will smiled.

"Really?" Maisy asked in disbelief.

"Really" Jennifer smiled. Maisy hugged her tight, she was so happy.

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Maisy smiled. Suddenly her smiled faded.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Buzz" the girl said sounding sad. She always slept with Buzz.

"I'll take care of Buzz and you'll see him tomorrow" Emily said.

"I can't sleep without Buzz" Maisy said.

"I'll be here." JJ said. "Aunt Emily will take care of Buzz and give him cuddles and I'll do that to you. He'll be okay"

Maisy hugged JJ tight.

"Do you really want to stay here?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded. "Can I go then?"

"Yes" Maisy said. "Take care of Buzz." She added and everyone smiled.

"Can I get a hug?" Emily asked with a smile. Maisy hugged her and said see you tomorrow.

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The night at Jennifer's house went okay up till Maisy had to get ready for bed. She got really nervous when JJ told her she was going to get some comfy clothes so she could get ready for bed. Maisy just sat on the couch looking nervous.

"Come on, Maisy" JJ said. "Come to Henry's room"

The girl got up and slowly walked there. When she got to where JJ was she had many tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Maisy." JJ said feeling bad. She rushed to the child and scooped her up. She carried Maisy to the bathroom knowing it was necessary to gain the girl's trust. She closed the door and stripped Maisy down as she cried.

"No bath" Maisy whispered.

"I'm right here with you. It's okay" JJ said. She took her clothes off and picked Maisy up. She went in the shower with the girl only wearing her underwear. She held Maisy tight and then put her down. Soon the shower was done. JJ took Maisy out and wrapped her in a towel. She got dressed quickly and then put some monkey pajamas that used to fit Henry on Maisy. The kid was calmer but didn't stop crying. JJ carried her to the living room while Will tucked Henry in.

Soon they met in the living room.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"Shower" JJ said. She had already talked to him about the situation.

"Maisy it's all done" Will said sitting next to them. Maisy just cried more.

"Shuuuu shuuu it's okay. You're safe." JJ said as she rocked the child.  
Soon Maisy fell asleep.

"She'll be okay, right?" Will asked worried.

"Yeah. It's just hard" JJ said. "I hate seeing her like this"

Will nodded and said "it's heartbreaking"

"Yeah" JJ said.

"I just don't understand how her parents could do those things to her. She's so little" Will said.

"They're just... horrible people" JJ said.

"We'll make sure she knows how parents should be like" Will said and JJ looked at him and smiled.

"I love you" Will said.

"I love you too" JJ said.

When they let go, Maisy was staring at them.

"Hi" JJ said.

Maisy sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked noticing the girl looked a bit sad.

"No" Maisy whispered. JJ hugged her tight.

"Maisy. Look at me" Will said and she did that. "Are you scared?" He asked and she nodded. "What are you scared of?"

"Them and..." she tried to say but couldn't finish.

"Maisy they will never hurt you again" JJ said.

"And we would never do anything bad to you" Will said.

"They were really bad parents, baby. We're good parents. We would never ever do anything that would hurt you and we'll never let anyone hurt you like that" JJ said.

"We love you, Maisy" Will said and suddenly Maisy's eyes widened.

"Dad never said I love you" Maisy said and sniffed.

"Your dad was a very bad man. But I'm nothing like him. I love you very very much" Will said.

Maisy let go of JJ and hugged him. He pulled her to his arms and held her tight. JJ was trying hard not to cry.

"Can I stay here forever?" Maisy asked. JJ looked at Will.

Will took a deep breath and said "as soon as we get your documents you can come"

"What _docments_?" Maisy asked.

JJ sat up straight and explained "remember how aunt Emily signed some papers when we were in the hotel?"

Maisy nodded.

"We gotta do that too. And then you can come" Jennifer said.

"You'll stay with Emily for just a little while. And then you'll come stay here" Will said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Maisy asked and went back to JJ's arms. She cuddled up to the woman and soon fell asleep.

"Stay in our bed with her. I'll take the couch" Will said. JJ nodded in agreement and went to their bedroom. She placed Maisy down and laid with her. She pulled Maisy closer and smiled when the girl hid on her chest.

"I love you monkey" she whispered.

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The next day, Saturday, JJ woke up to find Maisy cuddled up to her. She smiled, covered the girl up and kissed her cheek. She headed to the kitchen to find Will making pancakes.

"Good morning" she smiled.

"Oh hi. She likes pancakes, right?" Will asked hopeful.

"She does" JJ laughed.

"There are strawberries and blueberries too" he said. "I made fresh apple juice and we have coffee"

"Wow Will." JJ laughed. "Why did you make all of this?"

"It's not everyday that you decided to adopt someone" he said.

"What?" JJ asked.

"What? You thought I just said that yesterday and it was nothing?"

"I thought you wanted to foster. You're really serious?" JJ asked walking to him.

"Yes" Will smiled. JJ jumped and hugged him. "I love you" Will said. "Our family needs a mini Jennifer running around"

JJ laughed.  
Suddenly Henry walked in.  
"Pancakes!" He said excited.

"I'm gonna go get her" JJ said and rushed to her bedroom. She woke Maisy up and they went to the kitchen.

"Good morning sleepy head" Will smiled and Maisy waved still sleepy. JJ and Will laughed.

"Look Maisy! Daddy made pancakes for us" Henry said excited.

JJ sat Maisy down and they ate breakfast and had a great time.  
Jennifer looked around the room with a big smile on her face as Maisy and Henry giggled as Will threw berries up in the air and tried to catch them with his mouth.  
She smiled at how happy everyone looked and she couldn't be happier herself.

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Around 10, Emily got there and the couple was watching a movie together while the kids played.

"Emi" Maisy smiled and ran to Prentiss giving her a big hug.

"Did you have fun?" Emily asked and Maisy nodded.

"Go play" JJ said and Maisy ran back to where she was sitting with Henry. Prentiss followed JJ to the couch and the blonde told her how it all went.

"So you're adopting her?" Emily smiled.

"We are" Will said.

"She's going to be so happy" Emily said. "I'll miss her though"

"You're welcome to come here anytime. She loves you" JJ smiled.

"So... how will this work?" Emily asked.

JJ went on to explain that they were going to foster her and file for adoption right after getting the foster papers, and that she should stay with Emily till they had the foster papers in hands.

"We don't want her to come here and suddenly need to leave, you know" JJ said.

"Yeah. That's better" Emily agreed.

"We told her she would be able to stay here with us soon so we'll talk to her again about it once we have the papers" Will said.

"Okay" Emily said. "I'll be happy to babysit whenever you need" she smiled.

"Thank you for everything you're doing" JJ said.

"Oh you know I love that monkey" Emily smiled as Maisy and Henry ran in the room.  
JJ pulled Maisy to her and started tickling her. The girl's giggles filled the room with joy. Once JJ stopped tickling Maisy the girl sat next to her.

"Are we going now?" Maisy asked Emily.

"I was thinking of taking a little monkey to McDonald's with me" Emily said.

"Me?" Maisy asked excited.

"Yes you" Emily smiled. "So let's go?"

Maisy sat on JJ's lap. "You'll go see me at Emi's house, right?" She asked.

"Of course I will" JJ smiled.

"And you too?" Maisy asked Will.

"Yes" he smiled.

"And you be a good girl for Emily, okay?" JJ said.

"Okay" Maisy said with glossy eyes.

"Oh baby don't cry. I'll see you soon" JJ said and hugged Maisy tight. Then she made the girl stand up. "Say bye to Henry"

"Bye" Maisy said and Henry gave her a hug.

"Bye" Henry said as everyone smiled.

"Can we have another sleepover soon?" Maisy asked JJ.

"Yes we can" JJ said and pulled Maisy to her again. "I love you" she said.

"Love you too" Maisy smiled.

"Let's go?" Emily asked and Maisy hugged JJ tight again and then took Emily's hand.

"See you soon Maisy" Will said from the front door.

"Bye" the girl waved as she walked to the car with Emily.


	28. Chapter 28: Family Of Four

A little over a week went by fast and that Wednesday morning JJ and Will sat anxiously at a CPS office waiting for Daisy, the social worker, to give them the results.  
The woman walked back in the room and JJ instantly grabbed William's hand. She was so scared.

"I've got all your papers here and I'm happy to say everything went great" Daisy said.

"She can come home?" JJ asked hopeful.

"Yes." Daisy said. "These are the foster papers" she said handing the papers out.

JJ and Will hugged.

"We got her" Will smiled.

Daisy smiled as the couple hugged. She cleared her throat and said "all you need to do is sign"

Will and Jennifer signed everything with a smile on their faces.

"You can pick her up at Miss Prentiss's house today" Daisy said.

"Thank you" JJ smiled relieved everything went well.

"We'd like to start the adoption process" Will said.

"Oh" the woman said slightly surprised at how fast. "Already? Wouldn't you like to see how she'll be with you first?" She asked.

"She's our girl. Nothing's gonna change that" Will said. Jennifer couldn't help but smile. Maisy definitely had won Will over.

"Okay then" Daisy smiled and went to get more papers.

An hour later, Will and JJ shook the woman's hand and went to the car. They got in and JJ simply started crying. William hugged her and she cried into his neck.

"We got her" JJ said. "I was so scared"

"Me too" Will smiled relieved. He hugged Jennifer for sometime and then said "should we go get things for her bedroom?"

JJ let go of the hug and smiled big. "Yes" she said and Will drove to the shopping center.

It had been a week of anxiousness. There were a house visit from child services, interviews and lots and lots of paperwork. But finally they could take Maisy home.  
While walking at the mall shopping for Maisy, Will and JJ decided to get the girl's bedroom done before taking her home so they were racing to finish it quickly.  
For the next two days, Will got help from Derek and Reid to paint, put wallpaper and assemble furniture while JJ and Penelope went crazy shopping for things. Both super excited to have a little girl to shop to. JJ told Emily the news and the woman was really happy for them and couldn't agree more when JJ said they wanted to get Maisy's bedroom ready first. So they kept it all a secret from Maisy till Friday morning when JJ and Will went to Emily's house to get her. The previous night while Maisy slept in Emily's bedroom, Emily packed the girl's clothes and toys so everything was ready to go in the morning.

Emily was sitting in the couch waiting anxiously for JJ and Will to arrive when suddenly the intercom rang. She smiled and buzzed them in. She was so excited to see Maisy's reaction.

"Come on in" she said once they arrived at the door. They walked inside and Will asked where Maisy was. "Still sleeping" Emily smiled.

"Can I?" JJ asked pointing to the stairs.

"Go" Emily laughed and they went up.

They walked in the room and everyone smiled at how cute Maisy was in her purple pajamas, hugging Buzz and with her thumb in her mouth. JJ walked to the bed and woke Maisy up. As soon as the girl saw Jennifer she sat up and threw herself in JJ's arms.

"Jennifer!" Maisy said excited. Everyone smiled. JJ let go of the hug and said "Maisy we have some news for you"

"Good news?" Maisy asked hopeful.

"Very good news" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears.

Maisy saw. "If it's good then why crying?" The little girl asked. JJ laughed and a few tears fell. Will walked closer to them and kneed down in front of them.

"You can come home with us Maisy" he said.

"I can?" Maisy asked surprised.

"Yes" Will smiled.

Maisy hugged JJ tight and started crying. She was so happy. Will sat on the bed and hugged them. Emily just stood there smiling with tears in her eyes. She was beyond happy to see that Maisy would finally have a family.

"So let's go home?" JJ asked and they let go of the hug.

"Right now?" Maisy asked really excited.

"Yes" JJ laughed and Maisy hugged her again.  
Suddenly Maisy let go and turned to Emily. She looked a bit sad.

"Are you gonna go see me aunt Emi?" The little girl asked.

Emily walked to them and Maisy opened her arms asking to be picked up so Emily did just that.  
"Of course I'll go see you, Maisy" Emily smiled as the little one hugged her.

"You are the best aunt I ever had" Maisy said looking at Emily's eyes and everyone smiled.

"I promise to visit a lot, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Maisy smiled and hugged her again. Emily tickled Maisy and the girl's giggles made everyone laugh. She placed Maisy down and the girl went to JJ.

"So let go?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded with a big smile on her face.

"I can take Buzz right?" Maisy asked suddenly nervous.

"Yes of course" JJ said.

"I packed all your clothes and aaaall your toys" Emily said and Maisy smiled.

"So let's go" Maisy said and everyone laughed.

"Come here, monkey" JJ said and scooped the girl up. "Let's get you changed" JJ said. She carried the child to the other bedroom and got some clothes from a suitcase. She helped Maisy change and did her hair and then carried Maisy downstairs while Emily and Will got her things. Soon they were ready to say goodbye.

"You'll see me?" Maisy asked again.

Emily kneed down and said "I promise I will" and hugged Maisy. "Take care of Buzz and be a good girl" she said.

"I will" Maisy said and let go of the hug.

"Get in" JJ told Maisy as she opened the car door.

"Wow" Maisy said when she spotted the pink car seat.

"Go on. it's yours" Will smiled.

The small child climbed in and JJ buckled her up. JJ was about to close the door when Maisy shouted "wait!" so JJ stopped.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Maisy went forward and said "Emi" so Emily walked to her.

"I love you" Maisy said.

"Awe Maisy. I love you too" Emily smiled and hugged the girl. "I love you very very much. And I'll see you soon" she added.

Maisy nodded and JJ closed the door. Will got in the car.

"All settled?" He asked Maisy.

"Yes" the girl smiled.

Outside, JJ hugged Emily.  
"Thank you for everything" JJ said.

"It was a pleasure" Emily smiled. "And remember I want visitation rights" she said and JJ laughed.

"You're welcome anytime" JJ said.

"Go enjoy your girl" Emily smiled.

"Bye" JJ said and walked to the passenger's side.

Will started the car and everyone waved goodbye to Emily.

"Well, I just remembered that someone didn't have any breakfast" Will said. "How about we stop to get some?" He suggested smiling. JJ turned and Maisy definitely looked like she wanted.

"Would you like that Maisy?" JJ asked with a smile and Maisy nodded.

"Alright" JJ smiled and Will drove to IHOP. Once there, he parked the car, went inside and ordered their food. Maisy sat next to JJ and Will across from them.

"Is Henry coming?" Maisy asked.

"He's at home with Penelope" JJ said.

"Maybe we can take him pancakes" Maisy said.

JJ and Will laughed at the way she said it.

"That's a great idea" JJ said.

Breakfast went amazing. Maisy was a little bubbly thing. Will absolutely loved seeing JJ so happy as she talked to the little girl. Maisy went on and on about how much she loved those pancakes.

"Thank you for going here for breakfast" Maisy said and JJ smiled.  
"And thank you for letting me live with you now" the little one said. "I'm so happy" Maisy smiled.

JJ looked at Will to see his reaction and she found him staring at them smiling. He stared in her eyes and both smiled.  
They couldn't be happier to start their new life as a family of four.


	29. Chapter 29: Home

When Will parked the car in front of his house, Maisy was super excited to go in. JJ unbuckled her and helped her out. The girl walked next to the woman keeping a tight grip on her hand

"So... Maisy, do you remember that office we have?" JJ asked.

"The one with the big desk?" Maisy asked.

"Yeah" JJ smiled. "Well, that's your bedroom now"

Maisy's eyes widened. "I get my own?"

"Of course you do"

"The desk is mine now? But Will likes it so much" the girl said making JJ and Will laugh.

"No honey. We made you a special new bedroom in there" Will said and Maisy smiled.  
They walked inside and Henry ran to the little girl.

"Daddy said you're gonna live here" Henry smiled excited. "You're my sister now!" He said and everyone in that room smiled.  
"You need to see your bedroom! You're gonna love it!" Henry told Maisy. Then he turned to JJ and said "let's show her mom!". He was so excited, he always wanted a sibling.

"Lead the way" JJ told him.

The boy grabbed Maisy's hand and they went to the bedroom which was next doors from Henry's. Maisy smiled when she saw her name written on the door in pink sparkly letters. Henry opened the door and the girl was speechless. It was more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen in her entire life. The room was pink, white and grey, it had some clouds in on wall, a comfy bed in one corner, a play kitchen, a fuzzy rug, a little table, a little doll bed next to her bed, and many other cool things. It was perfect.

"Did you like it?" Will asked hopeful.

"I love it" Maisy said turning and hugging JJ. Everyone smiled.

"Let's go see your toys" JJ smiled and took Maisy to her new bed. Jennifer showed the room around and Maisy was all smiles. JJ left Maisy and Henry playing with Penelope while she unpacked the girl's clothes and toys. After settling in, JJ left the kids in the bedroom and went to find Will. He was in the kitchen finishing lunch. She hugged him from behind and her eyes filled with tears. Will turned around and wrapped his arms around her.

"Did you see her face?" JJ asked with a smile.

"Yes" Will smiled. Jennifer started crying. "We've got our girl. Everything will be okay" he told her.

"I just want her to be happy and safe" JJ said.

"We'll make sure of that" Will said.

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Later that day they had lunch and then Penelope left. After lunch the kids sat to watch cartoons and JJ and Will smiled watching Henry let Maisy chose one.

"He's amazing with her" Will said.

"The best big brother ever" JJ smiled.

They spent the night watching cartoons and playing in the living room. The time flew by and soon they had dinner. After dinner JJ told them to go have some quiet time in their rooms while they did the dishes so the kids went to Henry's bedroom and started playing "candyland". Soon JJ went to tell them it was time to get ready for bed. Jennifer couldn't help but notice how Maisy instantly tensed up. JJ handed out her hand and Maisy took it and followed her to her bedroom looking scared. JJ picked out some pajamas and took Maisy to the bathroom. Once JJ closed the door Maisy threw herself in JJ's arms. She trusted JJ but she still felt scared someone would go and hurt her there. JJ picked her up and said "you're safe princess. I'm gonna stay right here. No one will hurt you". She put Maisy down and undressed her as the child's eyes filled with more tears. JJ made Maisy go in the shower and the little girl just cried. She didn't fight JJ off but she cried. Jennifer tried to make the shower as quick as possible and soon she wrapped Maisy in a towel.

"All done, pretty girl" JJ smiled as she dried Maisy. She helped her get dressed and put a pull-up on the girl just to make sure there wouldn't be any accidents that night. She brushed Maisy's hair and then the girl brushed her teeth.

"Let's go say goodnight to everyone?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded looking a bit sad. JJ picked her up and carried her to the living room.

"Goodnight Will" Maisy said really low.

Will knew everything about the bath and shower situation so he understood why she was upset. "Goodnight Maisy" he smiled and walked to them. He kissed the girl's forehead and JJ noticed her tensing up again. Jennifer carried Maisy to bed and tucked her in.

"Have a nice night, monkey" JJ smiled and kissed Maisy's forehead. She was about to walk out when Maisy called for her. JJ walked back to the bed and asked what was wrong. Maisy was scared to say.

"Tell me what's wrong. It's okay. I won't be mad" JJ said.

"I'm scared to sleep here alone" Maisy said and looked down. "I love my room but I'm scared" she said with tears in her eyes.

"How about if I stay here with you tonight?" JJ asked with a soft smile. "Do you think we can fit on that bed?"

"Yeah" Maisy said sounding relieved.

"Then I'll be right back" JJ said. She went and told Will, then quickly got ready for bed and laid down next to Maisy. She read the girl a story and when she finished she noticed the small child was fast asleep. She gave Maisy a soft kiss and closed her eyes keeping her arms around the girl. Soon she was asleep.  
About 20 minutes later, Will went to check on them and smiled when he found JJ and Maisy both sleeping. He walked in and put the book in the bookshelf, pulled the covers up and turned the light off. He left the room smiling so happy about how everything went.

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Maisy had a good night and was super happy on Saturday morning. She played with Henry after breakfast and around 11 they went to the mall. Things went amazing that day. Maisy was so happy to finally have a good family that loved her and Will and JJ were all smiles at how great things were.  
That night Maisy decided she wanted to try to sleep in her bedroom alone so JJ helped her shower and then tucked her in.

"Anything just go get me" JJ told her.

Maisy hugged Buzz and soon fell asleep. She slept okay for about 2 hours and suddenly she woke up from a nightmare. She found herself in the dark room and tears started running down her cheeks. She remembered what JJ said but she felt so scared. She tried to sleep again but just couldn't stop crying so she got out of bed and walked to JJ's door holding a tight grip on Buzz. She stood in front of the door unsure if she should go in or not. Suddenly something came in her mind and she just froze.

 ******Flashback** **\- Maisy's POV******  
 _I woke up and the room was very dark. Dad had hurt me that night and whenever that happened I had nightmares so that day wasn't different. I woke and I was shaking. I felt like I wanted mom to hold me, I needed her to hold me like she used to do so I got out of bed and went to her bedroom. I stood in front of the door unsure if I should go in or not. I decided I had to but when I was about to open the door my dad stormed out and I fell on my bum. He turned and when he saw I was there I knew I was in trouble._  
 _"What the hell do you think you're doing here so late?!" He said grabbing my arm and basically dragging me back to my room. I didn't answer because I was scared he would hurt me like he had done earlier so I just stayed quiet. He took me to my room and threw me on the bed. I hit my shoulder hard on it and I couldn't help but cry. That made him so mad. He walked to the room next to mine and I thought that was it, I can go just go to sleep now but I was wrong. He walked back in with some sort of a charger in hands. "Turn" he said. "No please" I cried scared. "Maisy NOW" he yelled. I was too scared to move so he just turned me, pulled my pants down and started hitting me hard with that cable. It hurt so bad, I screamed and cried. Once he was done her pulled my pants back up and that hurt even more. "Do not get out of this bed until I come get you in the morning" dad said. "Do you understand?" He asked and I nodded. He left the room and I crawled higher on the bed and hugged my knees._  
 ******End flashback******

Maisy cried so bad when she remembered that. She just felt she shouldn't go in. So she turned around and saw Henry walking to her.

"Maisy?" He said.  
The small girl looked up at him and Henry saw she was crying.  
"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" He asked.

"Yes" Maisy cried. "I want Jennifer"

"You can go in" Henry told her but she took a step back scared. "I'll go with you" he said and grabbed her hand. The boy opened the door and they walked to JJ's side of the bed.  
"Mommy" Henry said slightly shaking his mother. JJ woke up and sat surprised to see both kids there. "Maisy had a bad dream" Henry explained.

"Come here" JJ said and wrapped the girl in a hug. "Let's go back to bed" JJ said and carried Maisy back to her bedroom.

"Do you want to stay here too Henry?" JJ asked as she laid down next to Maisy on the small bed.

"No mom, it's okay" Henry said.

"Come here give me a kiss" JJ said and the boy did just that. "If you need anything just come get me" she said.

"Okay" Henry said. "Goodnight" he said and went back to his room.

JJ saw Maisy was still crying so she hugged her tight and said soothing words in her ear. Soon the little one drifted to sleep and Jennifer stayed there the rest of the night.

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The next day, Sunday, JJ woke up and sat to talk to Will about what had happened at night. Both agreed there would be hard days but with them by her side Maisy would be okay and the nightmares would go away eventually.  
Once the kids woke up they had breakfast and played some games. Around 11, JJ got a call from Emily inviting her to meet her and Penelope at the mall to take the little ones out for lunch. JJ agreed and told the kids to get ready because they would go out. She talked to Will and he told her that he would stay home finishing some work he had to do. So JJ got ready and went to check on the kids. She walked in Henry's bedroom and he was getting his shoes on.

"Nice choice, buddy" JJ smiled when she saw what he was wearing. He had Jeans, a Captain America tshirt and black chucks. Henry smiled and followed JJ to Maisy's room. They found the girl only wearing a white tshirt and underwear, struggling to get her clothes from the closet.

"Oh baby. I'll get it for you" JJ smiled and Maisy moved out of the way. "Which one?" JJ asked.

"Pink" Maisy said pointing to it.

JJ got the pastel pink overalls and handed them to Maisy. She put it on and JJ did her hair.

"Go get your shoes on" JJ said with a smile. Maisy looked adorable. The small girl got a pair of converse exactly like Henry's.

"We're matching" Henry said and everyone smiled.

"Everybody done?" JJ asked and the kids said "yup" in unison. "So let's go" she smiled and they went out. They said goodbye to Will and went to the car.  
On the drive to the mall, Henry asked where they were going.

"We're going to the mall with Penelope and Emily" JJ said.

"Emi?!" Maisy said excited.

"You miss her, huh?" JJ said.

"Yeah" Maisy said with a smile super excited to see her favorite aunt again.

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At the mall, JJ walked to the food court with both kids holding her hands. When Maisy spotted Emily she ran to her.

"Emi" she said and threw herself on the woman. Emily picked her up and hugged her tight.

"How is my favorite girl?" Emily asked.

"Good" Maisy smiled.

"I heard you have this super cool room. I wanna know all about it" Prentiss said as everyone walked to a table. She put Maisy down and the girl went on and on about her room and being at JJ's house. Everyone could see she was really happy about it.  
They ate and talked and then walked around the mall. They headed home around 4 and agreed to do that again some other time.  
The rest of the day Maisy and Henry played and watched movies. JJ and Will hung out in the living room and just loved seeing both kids so happy. For dinner they ordered Chinese and Maisy loved the fortune cookies.  
That night when Maisy went to get ready for bed things went better. She didn't fight to get in the shower and only cried a little bit. Once the shower was done JJ wrapped the child in a towel and took her to the bedroom. She helped Maisy get dressed and brushed her hair.

"All done" JJ smiled and Maisy looked up. JJ could see the girl was still scared about it but she was so proud of how brave she was.  
"I am so proud of you, Maisy" Jennifer said and Maisy hugged her. "You are so so sooo brave"

"No I'm not. I cried" Maisy said letting go of the hug and looking down.

JJ lifted the girl's chin and said "you are the bravest little girl I know. And crying doesn't mean you're not brave" she said. "Everyone cries. And being brave means you were scared but you did it anyways."

"It does?" Maisy asked.

"Yes" JJ smiled. "You are super duper brave" she said and picked the small girl up. She put Maisy on the bed and got a book to read. The girl soon drifted to sleep and JJ went back to tuck Henry in. She read him a story and went to the living room to spend some time with Will.

"Is she okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah. She's asleep already" JJ said.

"How was the shower?" He asked.

"It was better" JJ said relieved. Will smiled and Jennifer rested on him.

"It will be okay. She's a tough girl" Will said.

"Yeah" JJ agreed.

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 ******Nightmare - Maisy's POV******  
 _I was in my room, my old room, in the old old house. All that was in there was a bed in the corner. I was curled up in another corner on the floor, trying to go to sleep. Suddenly, my door flew open and in came my dad. He shut the door and took off his belt. That meant I was in trouble. He walked over to me, towering over me. "Hands," he simply said. I was in so much trouble. I held out my shaking hands with my palms up, and he hit them with his belt. "Bad girl," he said after every slash. I don't know what I did wrong this time. A lot of times, I don't know. He dropped the belt and I pulled my bleeding hands in close to my chest. "Come" he said, I knew I had to do what he says but I couldn't, I was too scared. He scooped me up and set me on the bed in the other corner. My knees were still up too my chest when he set me down. "Come on, now," he said as he pushed my legs down. I just laid on the bed, stiff. He took my dress off, leaving me in my underwear. He ran his hand on my chest. "Please, no" I begged as hot tears trickled down my face. "Shhhh," he said calmly as he slipped my underwear off. "no," I cried out as he forced my legs apart. I whimpered as his hand went under my underwear. Then I screamed._  
 ******End of nightmare******

JJ and Will woke up to a blood curdling scream at 3:32AM. The scream wasn't a regular nightmare scream. The scream was as if someone was dying.  
JJ flew out of bed and down the hall to Maisy's room. When she got there she saw the small child lying there, belting out that horrible scream while cupping her hands over her private. JJ ran to her, sitting beside her and started to gently shake her.

"Maisy!" JJ yelled over the child's screams, but nothing happened. JJ tried shaking a little harder, but it just made it worse, Maisy started to push her away.  
Will ran to the bathroom and filled a big plastic cup that was sitting on the side of the tub with water. He ran to the room and handed it to JJ. She poured the water onto the top of Maisy's head, trying to stay away from her mouth and nose so she wouldn't inhale it.

The girl's eyes popped open and she went silent as big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked around scared and noticed Jennifer, and instead of screaming, she cried. Maisy sat up and her hands were still over her private.

"Shhh, it's okay, shhh," JJ said as she reached for her arms, but Maisy flinched back at her touch. "It's me JJ. It was just a bad dream," JJ calmly explained.

Maisy frantically shook her head.  
"It wasn't just a dream," Maisy whispered between sniffles.

JJ looked at Will, who was standing at the door with tears in his eyes. Will copied Maisy's heavy breathing and JJ turned to the girl and noticed. The child breathing was really un-even.

"Try to breath like me. Follow me, baby. In and out" JJ said taking Maisy's hand to her stomach and continued with a steady pace. Maisy's breathing slowly went back to normal with just a few hiccups every once in a while.

"What happened?" JJ asked when she saw her child seemed calmer. Maisy shook her head. "Come on, baby, talk to me. What happened?" JJ said and Maisy looked down at her hands over her private, then back up at JJ.

"I can't tell you," she whispered.

"He hurt you there?" JJ asked. Maisy's tears just fell. JJ hugged her tighter and suddenly the girl started sobbing.  
"He can't hurt you anymore, Maisy. Never again" JJ said.

Will walked to the bed and sat next to them. Maisy looked up and when she saw him she hid on JJ's chest.  
"It's okay, it's just Will" JJ told her.

"Maisy" Will said but Maisy didn't look up. "We'll never let anyone hurt you"

Maisy looked up and said "what if they come for me?"

"They can't." JJ said.

"I promise I will never let anybody hurt you. You're my little girl. Our little girl. We'll never ever hurt you and we'll protect you, always. You're safe here with us." Will said and held the girl's hand.

They stayed in silence for a while just holding the girl. Then JJ said "let's go to bed." and carried Maisy to their bedroom. Suddenly Will saw Henry sitting in bed looking scared so he went there.

"Is she okay?" Henry asked worried.

"Come here buddy" Will said. "Come stay with us" he said and they went and laid down next to the girls. Will and JJ let the kids lay in the middle of the bed and hugged them tight.

"You're safe. Both of you" Will said.

Soon they fell asleep.


	30. Chapter 30: Peaks and Valleys

Monday morning JJ decided to take the day off and stay at home with Maisy. She knew that after the previous night the child would probably be scared.  
So Will took Henry to school and JJ called Abby to let her know she didn't need to watch Maisy in the morning but she had to pick Henry up from school and babysit in the afternoon because Maisy had an appointment.  
JJ spent the morning watching cartoons with Maisy as the girl refused to be away from her. Around 1, they had lunch and Emily texted saying the office was pretty much dead so she asked if she could stop by. Of course JJ said yes and soon Emily arrived. Maisy was happy to see her and had fun showing her bedroom to her favorite aunt. Emily and JJ left Maisy playing with her doll and sat to talk in the kitchen. JJ told Emily about the nightmares and both felt really bad for the girl.

"Maybe the psychologist will help" Emily said.

"Maybe" JJ said.

Henry arrived with Abby at 4 and worked on his homework and then played with Maisy. At 5:30, Emily helped Maisy get ready to go out while JJ changed. Soon they were in the car heading to the psychologist.

When JJ parked the car Maisy saw where she was and she got scared. She didn't want to talk about her bad parents again.  
JJ helped her out and grabbed her hand. They walked in and Maisy refused to let go of JJ. Soon the child was called in but she didn't want to go.

"We'll be right outside" JJ promised and Maisy went in. Everyone knew she was scared but felt proud that she went. The Doctor worked on some drawings with her for about 20 minutes and everything seemed to be going great but as soon as the woman tried to bring up the family subject Maisy started crying and refused to talk about them.

"Sweetheart, you're safe here" the Doctor said.

"I want Jennifer" Maisy said and just sobbed.

"Maisy. Maisy look at me" the woman said and grabbed Maisy's hand.

When the kid felt the woman's touch she panicked and ran to the door. She opened and ran to JJ and just sobbed. The Doctor walked outside and said with a sorry face... "I think we better call it done for today".

JJ and Emily couldn't agree more.

They went to the car and drove back to the house. Maisy didn't say another word till she told Emily goodbye around 8pm that night.

"I'll see you soon, princess" Emily said with a sad smile. She knew the kid was hurting and she hated the fact that she was unable to make it go away.

Emily left and JJ took Maisy to get ready for bed. The shower went okay but Maisy cried as always. But it was only silent tears. JJ was glad she didn't have a melt down. Once done, JJ got her dressed and took her to bed. After a book and cuddles Maisy fell asleep. JJ tucked Henry in and sat in the living room. Around 9, Will got home. He had a busy day. JJ told him what happened at the psychologist and Will told her that they should try to talk to Maisy, that maybe she would trust them more and open up to them other than some lady she just met and sees once a week. JJ couldn't agree more but the problem was that she didn't know exactly how she could bring those subjects up. She was scared. She didn't want to make Maisy upset.

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The next day, JJ stayed home again and texted Abby saying that she didn't need to work that day. So she spent the morning at home with Maisy and the girl started talking again. They had mac and cheese for lunch and at 3:30 went to pick Henry up. The boy was all smiles when he saw them waiting for him. JJ took the kids to an ice cream shop and then to the ice rink for their classes. Maisy loved that JJ was there. She walked around showing her everything. The class went great and Maisy and Henry both would stop sometimes and wave at JJ.  
Jennifer was happy she was able to be there with them. After it ended, JJ took them to McDonald's for hamburgers and they met Will there. They had a good dinner and soon went home. The night time routine went well and for the first time Maisy didn't cry while showering. She was still scared and had glossy eyes but she didn't cry which made JJ and Will very happy. Once the kids were tucked in, JJ and Will sat to watch a movie together. It sure had been a great day.

On Wednesday, JJ told Will she would just take the rest of the week off and enjoy the kids. So again Will drove Henry to school and JJ hung out with Maisy.  
Around 11 they were watching cartoons while eating fish crackers when someone knocked on the door. JJ answered it and it was Daisy, the lady from CPS.

"Oh come on in" JJ said and the woman walked inside.

"I thought you'd be at work" Daisy said.

"I took the week off" Jennifer explained.

"I just came for a routine visit. These visits are checks and as I explained before they can happen any time any day till you get the final adoption papers"

JJ nodded.

"So where's Maisy?"

"She's watching cartoons" JJ said suddenly feeling nervous. They went to the living room and Maisy turned around to see who it was. When she saw that woman she felt really scared.

"Maisy, this is Daisy. Do you remember her?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded.

"How are you doing Maisy?" Daisy said with a smile but Maisy didn't smile back. "I just came to check on you. It's okay" she said but still no reaction from the girl.

"She's just a little scared" JJ said. She then showed the house around and the woman was impressed with the child's bedroom. They walked out of the room and Daisy said "it's a lovely house and I can see she's settled in just fine"

"Yeah. She's doing great" JJ said.

"I'll get going then." Daisy said. "Do you have any questions?"

JJ thought for a while and then she said "I was wondering how long it usually takes for adoptions to be finalized"

"It really depends. There's not really a way of knowing" Daisy explained.

"But she'll stay here while we wait, right?" JJ asked.

"There's no reason to why she wouldn't" Daisy said.

"I just don't want her to get used to this and suddenly someone taking it away from her. She's been through too much already" JJ said.

"I'll do everything I can for her to stay but we never known. If something bad or wrong shows up in your case then she could be sent to another foster home" Daisy said.

Suddenly they heard someone gasp. JJ turned around and saw Maisy standing at the door listing to everything. When the girl's eyes met Daisy's she just sprinted off to her bedroom and closed the door.

"Maisy" JJ said walking to the child's bedroom door but suddnely she realized she couldn't allow Daisy to see Maisy get upset. She was scared the child would do or say something and the woman would think she was an awful parent so she told Daisy not to worry and thanked her for the visit.

"I'm sorry she heard" Daisy said.

"It's okay. She's just scared. I'll talk to her" JJ said as they reached the front door.

"Bye" Daisy said and left.

As soon as JJ closed the front door she ran to Maisy's bedroom. She walked inside the room and the girl was in one corner hugging her legs and crying. JJ walked to her and picked her up.

"No" Maisy whispered and cried.

JJ took her to the bed and kept the girl on her lap. "Look at me sweetie." Said JJ and Maisy looked right in her eyes. "No one will ever take you away from me. No one. I won't let that happen, okay?"  
Maisy hugged JJ tight.

"You are my girl and I will not let anyone take you away from me or hurt you. Ever. Do you understand that?" Asked JJ.

"Yes" whispered Maisy.

JJ carried Maisy to the living room and the girl refused to be away from her. They picked Henry up at school at 3:30 and just hung out in the house. At 6pm, William got home and saw Maisy was a bit quiet. He took JJ aside and asked if something happened. JJ told him and he felt awful that the girl heard it all.

"No one will take her away, love" Will told JJ. "They have no reason to do that"

"I know but how do you explain that to a little girl" JJ said.

They had an okay night at home that consisted of tv, pizza for dinner and puzzles. When the clock hit 8 it was time to get ready for bed. JJ was happy that once again Maisy didn't cry. She was certain that after what had happened the girl would throw a fit but she was wrong. After two books and a song Maisy drifted to sleep. JJ went to tuck Henry in and again sat in the living room with Will.

"Was the shower okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah" JJ smiled relieved.

"You should try to let her do it alone. 'Cause soon you'll be working and I'm pretty sure she won't want me in the bathroom with her" he said and she agreed. JJ rested on him and Will said "I love this time we have at night. I thought that with Maisy being here she would be so attached to you that we would lose the free time we had... you know... just us"

"Never" JJ smiled and kissed him on the lips.

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Thursday was probably the best day since Maisy arrived at the LaMontagne's house.  
She spent the morning watching cartoons with Jennifer and Will got back from work right after lunch to find the two blondes playing. He joined them for a tea party and had a great time. Maisy even put a tiara on him. JJ laughed so much and had to take a picture of them. She stared at the little girl's smile and she couldn't be happier. Maisy seemed so comfortable around Will now and JJ loved that.  
At 3:30 they picked Henry up, all three of them, and went to the ice rink. Maisy and Henry couldn't be happier that both would watch their classes.

"She's pretty good" Will said as he saw Maisy skating with her friends.

"Jane said she's the best in her class" JJ said proudly.

"Look at the proud mama" Will joked and they laughed.

Once the classes were over they went to Outback for dinner and then headed home. Maisy fell asleep on the way back so Will carried her inside. He took her to her bed and when he placed her down she woke up.

He instantly thought " _crap! She'll get terrified now"._

But he was wrong.  
Maisy saw it was him and said "night night" in the most adorable voice Will had ever heard.  
The small girl turned and hugged her horse, Buzz, and went back to sleep leaving Will speechless. He covered her up and when he turned around to leave JJ was standing at the door with a big smile on her face.

"That was the cutest thing I've ever seen" He whispered and kissed JJ.

"She loves you" JJ smiled. "And _I_ love you" she added and kissed him again.


	31. Chapter 31: Opening Up

The next three days were amazing.  
Maisy was doing great and absolutely loved Henry and Will. JJ couldn't be happier.

Monday morning soon came and Jennifer had to go back to work. Abby arrived early in the morning and Maisy cried because she knew JJ would have to leave. Jennifer promised to be back soon and left with Will and Henry. Maisy cried but soon calmed down. Abby texted JJ just 6 minutes after she left to let her know that the girl was fine and playing happily.  
The day went on fine and Maisy had fun with Abby and Henry but she was glad when Will and JJ arrived home at 5:25. The night went great and soon they were sleeping.

The next day Maisy didn't cry when JJ left for work but she made the older blonde promise that she would be back soon.

"I'll come early today" JJ said and smiled when she saw Maisy smiling with the news. She felt a little bad knowing that she would get home early just to take Maisy to the psychologist and that wasn't really a thing that was exciting for the girl.

The day went by fast and soon JJ arrived home.

"You came early!" Maisy said as she ran to JJ. Jennifer picked her up and said "let's get you changed cause we're going out."  
She took Maisy to her bedroom and helped her get ready.

"Why am I dressed up?" Maisy asked.

"We're going to see Doctor Walker again" JJ said.

"No" Maisy said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Maisy we have to" JJ said and the girl looked down. "We can get burgers afterwards" she tried but Maisy just cried.

"Oh monkey" JJ said feeling bad. Maisy hugged her.

"I don't like it" she said.

"Why not?"

"Because.." Maisy said in her little kid voice and simply broke JJ's heart.

"Because of what?" JJ asked. She knew she had to get Maisy to talk about it.

"Because I don't wanna talk about parents." The girl said. "They are mean and I hate them" she said and just sobbed.

Jennifer picked her up and rocked her around.  
"I'm sorry Maisy. I know you don't like it but we need to go" JJ said and carried the crying child to the car.  
She drove to the practice and Maisy refused to get in so the Doctor suggested Jennifer going in with her. JJ carried Maisy inside and sat on the couch with the girl on her lap. The woman started talking and JJ could feel Maisy tensing up more and more. When the Doctor asked about her parents she just sobbed. JJ went into action and started trying to get her to talk. Maisy cried a lot. Jennifer thought there was no way Maisy would tell them things about them but she was wrong. Maisy suddenly just opened up. The girl cried but told them exactly how she was feeling and JJ couldn't hold her tears in any longer and just cried too. Maisy told them about her mother yelling and being mean and she even talked about the bad things her father did to her. She said they didn't like when she called them mom and dad and that they loved her brother and sister but they didn't love her.

"They never loved me they just hurt me." Maisy cried. "I always tried to be good. I tried to be so good so they love me like Julie and Connor but they never did. They always said I was a bad girl and they hated me"

"Oh Maisy. You are so good." JJ said hugging the girl tighter. "You are so good baby girl. They were... " she said and took a deep breath. "They were very bad people honey. They were bad parents. But you were always very good. You were never ever a bad girl"

"I'm scared they will come back to get me Jennifer" Maisy cried.

"They can't do that" the Doctor told her.

"Maisy, your father died and your mother went to a place that she'll never come out again. They can never ever hurt you again." JJ said.

"But I'm scared they will. They said they find me no matter where I hid" Maisy said.

"Maisy look at me" JJ said and the girl looked up. "Do you trust me?" She asked and Maisy nodded. "So trust me when I say that you will never ever see them again." Jennifer said serious.

"Sweetheart, you will never see your mom and dad again." The Doctor said.

"I don't want them to be my mom and dad, I want you and Will" Maisy told JJ.

"And we are. We are your mom and dad now." JJ said. "And we'll always be" she said. "We love you Maisy. We love you so much and we always will"

Maisy rested on JJ and just sobbed. After talking she felt like she could finally breathe. She felt so relieved that she just cried.  
Jennifer held the small girl tight and soon Maisy started calming down.

"I think this was our last session" the Doctor said. "She clearly trusts you more than anyone"

JJ nodded agreeing.

"Our time is almost up. You can wait till she calms down" the woman said and JJ thanked her. She just sat there till Maisy was calmer. Then they said goodbye to the Doctor and headed home. Maisy was quiet the entire ride and once they got home Maisy refused to let go of JJ. Abby left and JJ stayed in the living room watching tv with the kids. Maisy took a nap and woke up 30 minutes before they had dinner. After dinner she told JJ she was sleepy so Jennifer helped her shower. Maisy went in just fine but in the middle of it she completely broke down. JJ just took her out and got her dressed and in bed. She laid with the girl and sang songs till the little one fell asleep. JJ was almost sleeping next to Maisy when Will got home and went to check on them.

"Hey I'm home" he said and she looked up.

"Hi" she whispered and got out of the bed. She covered Maisy up more and placed a kiss on her cheek. She went to the living room with Will and Henry was watching tv.

"Bed time, buddy" Will told him and went to tuck the boy in. Soon enough he met JJ in the kitchen. She looked exhausted.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"She broke down at the psychologist today" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears. "She told us... everything I think." She said.  
"she said things about them that just.." she tried to say but started crying.

Will wrapped his arms around her and she was the one who broke down this time.

"It's going to be okay" Will said. "She's safe now" he told her.

JJ calmed down and they sat at the counter to talk. She told him everything Maisy said and at the end Will had tears streaming down his face. He felt like he could kill those people with his bare hands.

"Let her sleep in our bed tonight" Will told JJ. Will went for a quick shower and JJ went to the girl's bedroom and picked Maisy up. The girl woke up and JJ said "do you want to stay in my room?"

"Yes" Maisy mumbled.

Jennifer carried her to their bed and placed her in the middle. Will got on the bed and covered them up.

"Goodnight Maisy" Jennifer said tucking a curl behind the girl's ear.

"Night mommy" Maisy mumbled and drifted back to sleep.

JJ and Will froze.  
They looked at each other and smiled. Jennifer threw her arm around Maisy and grabbed Will's hand.

"Goodnight" she smiled.

"Goodnight" Will said.


	32. Chapter 32: Forever Family

The next morning, Wednesday, Will took Henry to school and left JJ and Maisy sleeping. He called his work and took the day off. He went back home and JJ was awake making pancakes for Maisy.

"Good morning" Will said hugging JJ from behind. They kissed.

"What are you doing home?" JJ asked surprised.

"I took the day off. I thought that since yesterday was a pretty tough day we could take the little one out today" he said. "Is she up?" Will asked.

"No" JJ smiled. "Can you go get her?"

"Sure" he smiled and headed to the bedroom.  
"Hey, Maisy. Wake up" He whispered softly, running his hand on her back and Maisy opened her eyes.

"Good morning" Will smiled. Maisy stretched and he laughed.

"Where's Jennifer?" The little girl asked.

"She's making some pancakes for a little girl with messy blonde hair and a cute laugh. Did you see this girl around?"

Maisy giggled.

"Oh here she is" Will smiled and Maisy smiled back. "Can I?" He asked showing he wanted to pick her up. Maisy sat up and opened her arms to him. Will smiled and scooped her up and carried her to the kitchen.

"Good morning, monkey" JJ smiled when she saw the child in Will's arms. She went and hugged Maisy. Will put Maisy on the chair and JJ got her a plate of food. Maisy ate and then JJ told her to get ready because they would go out. Maisy looked down sad.

"Hey. We won't go there again" JJ said knowing she didn't want to go see the psychologist.

"Promise?" Maisy asked.

"I promise" JJ smiled. "We're going out with dad" JJ said and Will smiled.

Maisy just sat there confused and JJ and Will realized the girl had no idea she had called Jennifer mommy.

"Okay. Come on. Let's get ready" JJ said and took Maisy to her bedroom.

.

Jennifer was helping Maisy get dressed when suddenly her phone rang. She answered and it was Daisy to let her know the final papers where meant to be signed at the court at 10am.

"10AM today?" JJ asked confused.

"Yes. Apparently her psychologist made some calls yesterday" Daisy said smiling glad Maisy finally had a good family.

"So we got her? Forever?" JJ asked.

"You got her, forever" Daisy said.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much. We'll be there at 10" JJ said excited. She hung up and saw Maisy standing there staring at her. She ran and picked the girl up and held her tight.

"I love you so so so much" JJ said smiling.

"I love you too" Maisy giggled. "Let's go. I'm ready" she said. She had no idea what had just happened.

JJ put her down and said "go get your shoes on" and ran to talk to Will.

"We got her" JJ said running in the kitchen.

"What?" He asked confused.

"We got her. Daisy called and we need to go to the courthouse at 10. She's ours" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears. Will hugged her tight and his eyes filled up too.

"Why are you crying?" Maisy asked from the door. JJ and Will let go and JJ signed for Maisy to go to her so the kid went and JJ picked her up.

"Do you remember how we told you that we needed some documents that allowed you to stay here forever?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Maisy said. "You got that and I move here" she said.

"Yes" JJ said.

"But there are other documents that make me and Will your parents" JJ said.

"It does?" Maisy asked surprised.

"Yes. And with those documents no one can ever take you away from us because they make us your parents forever" JJ said.

"Does that mean you're my mom and dad?" Maisy asked.

"If you want us to" Will said.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Maisy said excited and wrapped her arms around Jennifer's neck and started crying because she was so happy.

Will wrapped his arms around them and said "we'll be your parents forever."

Maisy looked at them and asked unable to hide a smile "Good parents?"

"The best parents" JJ said smiling and Maisy smiled too and hugged JJ again. Will kissed Maisy's forehead and she opened her arms to him. He picked her up.

"You'll be my mommy and daddy for real?" Maisy asked.

"Yes. For real. Just like Henry's" JJ said and the little girl's face light up.

"I can call you mommy and daddy like Henry does?" Maisy asked.

"Of course you can" JJ smiled.

"So let's go get the papers?" Will asked.

"Yeah" Maisy said excited.

They went to the car and drove to the courthouse. They got there at 9 so they had some time to kill.

"We can go in there" JJ smiled pointing to a ToysRUs across the street. Maisy's face light up. Will parked the car and they went to the store. Since it was a big day they let Maisy pick out a toy. She chose an Elsa doll but JJ saw a big collection of princesses dolls that had that same Elsa so she picked that up. It was one of those that looked like Barbies but were actually the Disney princesses.

"How about this one instead?" JJ asked.

Maisy's jaw dropped.  
"Really? I can get that?" Maisy asked in disbelief.

"Do you want to?" JJ asked and Maisy nodded. "Alright this is the one then" she smiled. Maisy jumped and hugged her and she dropped the doll pack.

"Let's go pay" Will laughed. They went and Maisy loved it so much that she wanted to open it right after they payed.

"Can you open it mommy?" Maisy asked JJ and Jennifer smiled big to the sound of the girl calling her mommy. How she waited and prayed for that day.

"Let's go to the car so we can open it" JJ said so they did just that and Maisy was all smiles with her dolls.  
Soon it was time to go sign the papers. So JJ told Maisy she could take just one doll with her and she picked the Elsa one. Maisy walked in with them and the judge congratulated her on getting a new family. She shyly hid behind Will and he picked her up. They signed everything and couldn't be happier. The girl was finally their daughter.

"I think we should get Henry and celebrate" Will said. "What do you think?" He asked Maisy.

"Yeah!" She said excited.

Will carried her to the car and to Henry's school they went.  
The boy loved to leave early and was beyond excited when JJ said they had adopted Maisy and that meant she was his little sister now. He was so happy.  
They went to the car and the kids almost couldn't contain their excitement when Will suggested going to the Zoo.

"I've never been to Zoo before" Maisy said sweetly and JJ and Will smiled at how cute she sounded.

"It's so cool Maisy! You're gonna love it" Henry said excited.

And he couldn't be more right.  
They had an amazing time at the Zoo. JJ and Will loved seeing Maisy and Henry walk around giggling together. Maisy was in awe. She had never seen those animals so close.

"This is so much better then tv!" Maisy said and everyone laughed.

Once they finished with the Zoo they went to the park and found a nice place to sit while Henry played in the playground. Maisy refused to go and said she didn't like it so she stayed with Will and JJ.

"So Maisy..." JJ said. "Are you happy we are your parents now?"

"More than happy" Maisy smiled and got closer to JJ who wrapped her arms around the girl.  
"I want you to be my mommy and daddy forever and ever and ever" Maisy said.

"And we will be" JJ smiled and kissed the girl's cheek multiple times making Maisy giggle.


End file.
